Harry Potter and the Black Secret

Chapter Four

Secret Sharing

Draco Malfoy had no idea that one question would have such an effect, on who he considered (though he'd never tell anyone!) the strongest woman he knew. He had always considered her a worthy advisory, and now he she was, weeping in his arms. He felt incredibly awkward.

Her head was resting on his chest, tears gushing out of her eyes. He was holding her; stroking her hair; trying to calm her, relax her. It seemed to be working. As he comforted her, he wondered how long she had been holding all this emotion in. He also mentally cursed Harry Potter for not being here with his 'best' friend. Not that he minded, but he had always considered Gryffindors to be loyal, why was she here all on her own?

Kristine's weeping subsided. She lifted her head off his chest, looking into his eyes for a moment, allowing him to wipe the few remaining tears off her cheeks with his thumb, his other hand still behind her head. He gave her a small smile. She'd never seen him smile before. He should do it more often she thought. It suited him.

She suddenly realized who she was thinking about, and pulled back from his touch, looking down away from his gaze.

"You shouldn't cry. It doesn't do anything for you," he said with a slight grin. "So, do you want to tell me what's going on yet?"

Kristine longed to tell him, she needed to say it, but Draco Malfoy? Hogwarts most famous Death Eater in training? Hell, he probably was a fully-fledged death eater all ready! But he'd been different over the last couple of hours, would he tell? Was it worth the risk?

"I can't tell you," Kristine told him, her eyes still on the floor.

"Of course you can't," he replied as if that was what he had expected to hear, "after all, I'm evil, right?" there was a hint of amusement in his voice. Kristine couldn't help but smile a little.

"Voldemort killed my Mother last night," she said quickly. There. She had said it. It was real.

The first thing that surprised Kristine was to see Draco Malfoy shiver at the sound of the dark lords name. Surely he could stand to hear the name of his own Master! The second was how sincere his next words were.

"I'm sorry."

He saw her staring at him in slight disbelief and smiled.

"Yeah, okay. I'm not as heartless as I make out, just don't tell anyone, okay?"

"I won't," she promised, intending to leave it at that, but then asked, "Why...?"

"We all have secrets," was all he said to her, before switching back into his teasing mode, "and don't change the subject, I'm here to counsel you, not the other way around!"

Kristine was suddenly snapped back into her own problems.

"I don't think your telling me everything. Your Mothers death is terrible, and I am really sorry it happened, but I know you. Something else must have shaken you. What is it?"

Kristine decided that she didn't care anymore. It was absurd as it was. Voldemort after her! A prophecy. Maybe if she told Draco he would tell his Father, but at least then she'd know if any of it was true. For some reason though, she didn't think Draco would tell.

"My Mother raised me on her own. It's always been just her and me. Then all of a sudden, as if her death wasn't enough, it's my Father who has to tell me the news."

Draco looked slightly stunned, but asked, "Have you never met your Father?"

"No. Now I know why, he was in Azkaban."

Draco had a sudden look of realisation, as if all the pieces of the puzzle had suddenly fallen into place.

"Black. That's what you said earlier. Your Father is Sirius Black, which means that you're..." Draco stopped there.

"What? Draco what do you know?" Kristine said urgently.

Draco looked up at Kristine. Concern filled his eyes, and he didn't try to hide it anymore.

"I overheard my Father just before term started. He was standing in the hall, speaking to someone, I don't know who, but they were both wearing black robes, and so..." Draco paused, before taking a deep breath and continuing.

"Everyone knows my father is a death eater, they've just never been able to prove it. He never actually told me, but well...like Father like Son I guess."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kristine asked getting anxious.

"That I know a lot of things that I really shouldn't, and I go a lot of places that I shouldn't go. Put together, that means I hear quite a bit of information," Draco told her with a smile, seeming rather proud of himself.

"Okay...go on," Kristine prompted cautiously.

"The man my father was talking to said that 'The Dark Lord wanted the child of Black found, and brought to him, dead or alive'. My father left that night, and he hasn't been back yet, he's searching."

"For me," Kristine concluded.

"Sounds that way, but I wouldn't worry about it, last I heard, Father was in New Zealand. They don't have a clue who you are, or where you are. In fact, from what I gather, they think you're male!" Draco said. He seemed rather amused at the idea that the person they were looking for was right under their noses.

"You know, maybe I should worry," Kristine told Draco, deadly serious.

"I wouldn't tell," Draco said, sounding hurt.

"How do I know that? Like Father like Son, you just said it!"

"Not like that. I would never help Him. I would never help any of them."

Draco stood up and began pacing in front of her. He ran a hand through his hair.

"Why am I not convinced?" Kristine said sarcastically.

"Because you stupid and ignorant just like the rest of them!" Draco said, raising his voice, obviously angry.

Kristine was shocked by how angry he got. He always seemed so cool, even when they were fighting. He never let what he was really thinking show.

"Look," she said calming down, "I'm sorry. I'm just tired and wound up, you're an easy target." She admitted, and then added, "I am confused though."

Draco sat down beside her once again.

"If I tell you my biggest secret, will that convince you. I'll know yours and you'll know mine, but you mustn't tell anyone, not a soul. If he found out that I... Promise me you won't tell," he said looking her in the eye.

"I promise," Kristine said, and she meant it completely.

Draco nodded, believing her. He took a deep breath, psyching himself up. What was he going to tell her?

"My Father is a death eater, that's pretty obvious. When I said he never talks to me about it, that was a lie. He has just started to. Now that Voldemort," Draco struggled to say his name, "is back to his full power. He wants me to become a death eater, but I'm not going to."

Draco looked determined. Kristine remained silent; she had a feeling he wasn't quite done yet. She was right.

"I don't want to go into detail, but the basic gist of what he told me was that either I join the dark Lord, or I will die, and he won't stop it."

Kristine was shocked. Draco wasn't lying, she knew it.

"He actually said that? Your own father?"

"Pretty much, he used more words and it was less of a threat, but that was only cause I made it seem like I would join without question. If he found out what I really think, then he would kill me, no questions asked."

"That's awful," Kristine said, what else could she say? Her worst enemy had just told her that unless he pretended to be evil, his father would kill him. It wasn't exactly a common scenario!

She looked at Draco. He was hanging his head, looking down at the ground, just as she had been doing an hour ago now.

Two enemies had just told each other their deepest secrets. The irony in what had just happened didn't escape either of them.

"So, you're really a good guy then?" Kristine said jokingly, lighting the mood.

"Let's just say I'm not evil, alright?" Draco said looking up into her face, a genuine smile now on his lips.

"Deal."

"It's late, you should probably get some sleep," Draco told her, as a small yawn escaped Kristine's mouth.

"I guess. I just hope Harry's not waiting up for me, I can't cope with him right now."

Draco raised an eyebrow, and Kristine knew what he would say if she gave him the chance.

"He'll be too sympathetic! He means well, and he just wants to look out for me, but I really need to sort myself out. I don't need to be fussed over," Kristine explained.

Draco was still looking at her, a teasing glint in his eye.

"He is not my boyfriend!" Kristine insisted.

"Really?" Draco pushed.

"Really!" Kristine swore.

"Good," Draco said softly, just before he kissed her.

The sudden movement made Kristine jump. She wasn't expecting him to kiss her; he took her completely by surprise. At first she was just paralysed with shock as he pressed his warm lips up against hers, but then the world seemed to melt away, and she started to kiss him back.

His right hand found its way to her face, his fingers slipped behind her ear and onto the back of her neck as his thumb rested upon her cheek, caressing her soft skin gently. He kissed her gently, but passionately, and to his delight she began to kiss him back.

He felt her right arm rise and rest itself on his shoulder as she locked him in the embrace. Finally, their lips broke apart as they both gasped for breath. Draco rested his forehead on hers, and she did the same to him. They lent upon each other, eyes closed, enjoying the moment.

"I have a confession to make," Draco said, breaking the calm silence. Kristine could feel the heat of his breath as he spoke only inches away from her face. She remained still and silent, listening to him patiently.

"I've wanted to do that ever since I first saw you."

At this Kristine opened her eyes as Draco did the same. They looked into each other's souls, for the eyes are the windows to the soul, and she saw his honesty. She smiled, all her problems left far behind for the time being.

"I'm glad you did," was all she said as they wrapped their arms around each other, and she was surprised to find that she meant it.

They sat together for the remainder of the night. Kristine leaning the back of her head on Draco's chest, his arms holding her around her stomach. He rested his chin on the top of her head, occasionally kissing her hair.

He had commented on how cold she felt, and had removed his outer shirt to place around her shoulders.

They watched the sun rise, and as light poured into the Astronomy tower Draco whispered to her,

"We should go back."

Kristine had been thinking the same thing, but she was glad he had been the one to say it. She nodded gently, and rose, against her will, from the comfortable position in Draco's arms.

She felt exhausted, and the effort of standing up made her dizzy. Draco caught her round the waist before she fell. She smiled at him thankfully, and they began to walk down the stairway, back into the main part of the school.

Draco walked her all the way back to the Gryffindor common room, never once removing his arm from around her. As they approached the portrait of the Fat Lady, Draco stopped and turned to face her. He placed his hand on her hips, and gazed longingly into her eyes. He didn't want to let her go.

She moved her hands up to remove the shirt she was wearing, his shirt.

"Keep it," he said, "It looks better on you anyway."

She put her arms around his neck and hugged him one more time, and he hugged her back.

"Get some sleep," he told her as they moved apart, "I don't think anyone will be expecting you in lessons today anyway," then he added "and I'm sure Granger won't let you fall behind."

Kristine smiled, she ran her fingers through his hair, loving how soft it felt, and how easily it slipped through her fingers.

"Don't grease your hair back," she told him, "It's much better this way."

"I have no desire to look 'nice'. You know that," he said.

"I know, but you're not opposed to looking drop dead gorgeous are you."

She kissed him quickly and gently on the lips.

"Goodnight," she said, and she walked behind the painting after uttering the password (which Draco already knew, no doubt).

"Goodnight," he whispered as she disappeared.

He didn't even remember the journey back to his own Slytherin common room.

Kristine was pleased to see that no one was up, and she made her way up to her bedroom, quietly closing the door behind her. She climbed into the large four-poster bed without changing her clothing, and settled her self under the covers.

It wasn't until she was comfortable in her bed that she realised that she hadn't closed the curtains, and that daylight was sneaking into her room. It wasn't such an inconvenience for Kristine as would be for anyone else. With a simple flick of her wrist the curtains closed themselves, and Kristine closed her eyes to catch up on some much needed sleep.

Hours passed and Kristine didn't even stir as the other students around her got up and made their way to breakfast. Nor did she wake when Harry opened her bedroom door, and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw her safely in bed.

Lunch came and went, afternoon lessons began and Kristine still slept. She finally awoke at what would have been the beginning of double potions, the last lesson of the day. She yawned and stretched before she realised that someone was sitting at the end of her bed.

"Shouldn't you be poisoning some defenceless Gryffindor under Snape's nose right about now?" she asked jokingly to Draco Malfoy.

"Hello to you to," Draco said laughing. Not his cold snigger, a real laugh. "I thought I'd come and see how you were, and bring you this" he added holding out a plate of cakes.

Kristine suddenly realised how hungry she was.

"You weren't at dinner last night or breakfast this morning, so when you didn't show for lunch I thought I'd better play the guardian angel. Eat up."

Kristine didn't have to be told twice and she dug into a chocolate croissant.

"These are delicious!" Kristine said in pleasure.

"Well, if your going to do something, do it right. House elves are incredibly helpful you know."

Kristine smiled as she picked up a cream filled cake, and Draco laughed as he watched her.

"Seriously, how are you?" Draco asked when Kristine was licking the cream off her fingers several éclairs later.

"I'm fine," Kristine said, but seeing as they both knew this was an outright lie she continued. "I'm not singing and dancing, the hills are alive with the sound of music fine, but I'm coping. These help" she said picking up the last cake.

That was enough for Draco.

"Okay. Do you think you're going to come down to dinner later?"

"I have to face people sometime I guess" Kristine sighed. They were silent for a moment, and then she suddenly spoke,

"What are going to do about last night?" Kristine asked. The look on Draco's face tol her that the same question had been plaguing his mind.

"I don't know," he replied, then admitted, "I was kind of hoping that you had the answer to that one."

"Well, we can hardly go back to hating each other, and I don't think I want to anyway."

"Me neither."

"But so much is going on at the moment, not to mention what would happen to you if your Father found out about us, mine too now that I think about it!"

"So there is going to be an us?" Draco said cheekily.

"If you want there to be," Kristine concluded.

"More than anything, but no one can know."

The look on his face was deadly serious.

"Not ever," she agreed.

Draco took her hand and kissed it gently before he stood up and kissed her softly on the lips, much like she had done last night.

"I'll see you later. Astronomy tower?" he said as he left her to prepare herself to face her friends.

She nodded, and he walked out of the door.

She got up, and whilst she was still depressed, the smile Draco had left on her lips didn't fade until she saw the look on Harry's face an hour later.