The Siren's Call (A Draco Malfoy Fanfiction)

15. A Pureblood Pain in the-

Around three in the morning, Dioleh jolted awake with a harsh gasp. She groaned, realizing she was just in a room at the Leaky Cauldron. Rubbing her eyes tiredly, she slipped out of bed. This had happened enough times to where she knew she wasn't going to be getting back to sleep. Moving over to her trunk, she grabbed the outfit she had set on the top and quickly changed into it, stuffing her sweatpants and tanktop into the trunk.

She had picked for herself a white sweatshirt and black ripped jeans with black ankle boots. After she had put her wand in the large pocket of her sweatshirt, she left the room, shutting the door softly behind her. To her surprise, someone was sitting on the steps leading down to the bar and off the landing she was currently standing on.

Frowning, she said, "Harry? Are you all right?" He looked up in surprise.

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine," he said, but Dioleh could tell he was lying.

Sitting down next to him, she said, "Oh?"

"You always see through people's lies?" he asked with a small smile.

"Usually," she replied with a smirk.

"I, uh, overheard Mr. and Mrs. Weasley talking," he explained, fiddling with his wand in his hands. "Sirius Black escaped Azkaban to come after me."

"What?" Dioleh whispered, her eyes wide. "You're joking. Bloody hell."

Unable to help himself, Harry said, "That might be the most British thing I've ever heard you say."

"Oh shut up," she retorted, shoving him slightly. "It's hard not to, being surrounded by you lot all the time." After a moment's pause, she said, "But, how do they know?"

"Apparently before he escaped he said 'He's at Hogwarts'," Harry explained.

"Are you scared?" Dioleh asked, glancing over at him.

Frowning, he replied, "Honestly, no."

"Makes sense, honestly," Dioleh admitted. "I mean come on. How scary can a man be compared to a gigantic snake, right?"

"A basilisk, technically," he corrected.

Waving him off, she dismissed, "To-may-to to-ma-to."

"Why are you still up?" Harry asked.

"Just woke up," she admitted, failing to stifle a yawn. "I have insomnia, or something like it anyway. On the rare occasion I can get to sleep, I wake up at about three in the morning anyway."

"Do you know why?" he asked. Dioleh stayed silent. The truth was she had been having nightmares since she was a kid. Ever since the massacre.

"Uh, it's complicated," she said finally, not looking at him. "I just, uh, witnessed something when I was young that hasn't ever left me. I was about five."

Hesitantly, Harry asked, "What happened?"

Swallowing, Dioleh replied, "My family was murdered. Everyone other than my father. Since he...well they've just gotten worse." They fell into silence, but it was not an awkward silence.

"If you, uh, ever, you know-" Harry began after a moment. Dioleh smirked at his awkwardness.

"Need someone to listen?" she filled in, smirking still. He chuckled slightly awkwardly.

"Yeah, um, well you can-" Dioleh couldn't help the laughter that began to pour from her lips. She tried to muffle it, pressing the sleeve of her oversized sweatshirt into her mouth, but it was too late to stop her laughter.

"Sorry," she said, still laughing. "You're so awkward, Harry."

"Yeah, thanks for that," he said, but he didn't seem particularly bothered. Only a little embarrassed. "Well, I should go get some sleep."

"Probably for the best," Dioleh replied. "See you in the morning, Harry."

"You too," he replied, smiling back at her as he went back to his room.

⥖✦✧⦽✧✦⥗

Once Hermione woke up, the two girls went down and ordered breakfast. Soon the Leaky Cauldron was thrown into chaos as everyone attempted to get ready to go back to Hogwarts. The moment she crossed the barrier, Dioleh caught sight of the familiar light pink hair of her best friend.

"Imani!" she cried, rushing toward her. Imani turned, smiled, and hugged her back.

"Have a good holiday?" she asked.

"It was great," Dioleh replied. "Let's go find a compartment, yeah?" Imani nodded and after saying goodbye to her parents and after Dioleh had said goodbye to the Weasleys, they got onto the train. Choosing an empty compartment, the two sirens chatted about their summers.

Once the door was closed, Imani asked, "So, did the adoption go through?"

"Yeah," Dioleh replied. "It took forever though. I'm pretty sure Dumbledore is the only reason I'm not in foster care right now. The Ministry didn't want me with no-majs." Before they could talk more, the compartment door opened and the classic quartet Dioleh had grown to dislike more and more appeared in the doorway.

"Mind if we sit, love?" Draco asked with a cocky smirk.

Raising an eyebrow at him, she said with confidence to rival his own, "As much as I'd prefer it otherwise, you are at perfect liberty to sit wherever you like." He merely smiled wider and the group settled in. Dioleh got out a book and began to read until it was about noon. She and Imani had just gotten out their lunches when Draco left with Crabbe and Goyle. Zabini left to go and find someone he was supposedly dating so it was just the two of them.

The moment Zabini left, Andre dashed into the compartment. "Andre," Imani said in surprise. He had more or less completely ignored the two of them last year. "What're you doing here?"

"Had to wait until they left," he replied, sitting across from them and leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. He had tanned over the summer, causing his white hair to stand out more starkly than usual. Lowering his voice, he warned, "Listen, I just wanted to warn you, with Sirius Black out and about, they've set up all these new security measures. My dad's in on it with his work with the Ministry. They have Azkaban guards on the Hogwarts grounds."

"Well, what are the guards?" Imani asked, brows furrowed.

"Dementors," Andre explained as quietly as he could while still being heard. "They suck all the happiness out of you and..." He paused, glancing over at Dioleh, "They remind you of the worst moments of your life. I just thought you should know. If one comes near you-"

"Would you look on here," Draco said with a laugh, coming back into the compartment with Crabbe and Goyle. "What you doing here, Rodreguez."

"Malfoy," Dioleh groaned in irritation. "Andre is my friend, lay off." Draco scoffed, taking his seat again.

Glaring over at Malfoy, Andre said, "I got to go."

"Wait, Andre!" Imani said but he was gone.

Rolling her eyes, Dioleh glared at Draco and snapped, "Do you always have to be such a pain?"