𝐃𝐀𝐌𝐍𝐄𝐃¹ - 𝐀 𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐋𝐢𝐞𝐬 // 𝐆.𝐖. - 𝐃.𝐌.

- 𝐓𝐞𝐧 -

A/N: I translated it in a hurry, I apologize in advance for any errors <3

𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑴𝑨𝑹𝑨𝑼𝑫𝑬𝑹'𝑺 𝑴𝑨𝑷.

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𝕾he walked on tiptoe, hidden in the shade so as not to show her figure to the flashes of moon that swallowed the darkness. It was late, probably past one in the morning. Reading with her elbows resting on the railing of the Astronomy tower had made her lose the orientation of time and now she had to hurry back home so as not to be caught by the prefects.

She hugged the shoulder bag that occasionally slipped from her arm tighter and unzipped it to slip a book she had held in her hands all the way.

"Hey you, Slytherin!"

A voice made its way beyond the silence with the sound of footsteps becoming more and more audible. Marie's eyes snapped back, her chin touching her shoulder to catch a glimpse of the tall figure at the end of the corridor rushing to join her. She sighed and forced herself to drop the book and show herself in the moonlight to escape. She ran as long as she could, drawing on all her strength to not give in to the strain that the long run caused her. She hugged the book in her hand tighter and turned the corner to hurry to reach the Slytherin entrance. She walked two by two up the steps leading to the basement and yelled the password before stepping inside and slamming the door behind her.

"Oh, thank goodness." Marie sighed, dropping the book to the floor. She stood with her back against the wall for long minutes, before picking up the book at her feet and walking through the common room to reach the dormitory.As her feet crossed the threshold of her room, a voice rang out behind her.

"The curfew went off hours ago, you know?"

She whirled around, her stinging gaze falling into his eyes, two deep wells with bright, clear water. She wanted to ask him what he was doing there but her lips didn't open, her teeth remained clenched. She slid her eyes along his figure. He was half lying on Astoria's bed, his elbows sinking into the mattress and the palms of his hands caressing the soft fabric of the blankets. Maybe he was there for Astoria, she assumed to herself. But the posture and the way he sat up as soon as Marie entered the room made her think otherwise. He was waiting for her. He was there to tell her something.

"Are you lost? I can point you to the boys' dormitory if you want" she spat with irony, placing the book she held tight to her chest on the bedside table. A crooked smile formed on Malfoy's lips. "Where have you been?" he asked in turn, completely ignoring Marie's. A grimace made its way across her face. "That's my business, Malfoy," she replied arrogantly crossing her arms over her chest. "Now get out of here, I need to sleep."

"I'm sorry to disappoint you," he retorted, standing up and approaching her. "But we have to go back to the Manor. Both of us." A wrinkle formed right in the middle of her forehead. An ugly, long line that made its way into her face as her features contracted into an expression that smoked with anger. Maybe three or four hours had passed since her arrival at Hogwarts and she already had to return. "Seriously? Absolutely not!" she exclaimed raising her hands to the sky. She had sworn to herself not to set foot there again and she had no intention of breaking her promise. Promise number one."I didn't ask for your permission, in fact." the blond grinned before pulling her to him and carrying her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. An angry snarl escaped Marie's lips. "Put me back down, you ugly asshole!" she screamed, wriggling and patting him on the back. "Put me down!" she repeated in vain.

"Malfoy- Malfoy if you don't put me down, I swear to Salazar I'll scream" she growled between her teeth shaking her legs to try to hurt him. A soft chuckle escaped Draco's lips. "You're already screaming." he retorted as he approached the door. She heard his footsteps cross the Common Room to go to the door that led outside. It was dark, the greenish flame candles weren't enough to dig out the darkness that clouded her vision. She let go of her hold on him and let her arms hang in the void.She carefully watched the direction Malfoy's feet were taking. Straight for three steps. To the left. About twenty steps to go up the steps of the stairs. Straight again. Thirty steps or maybe more, and stop. It was someone's voice that made Draco stop abruptly. "Shit-" he murmured, letting go of her.Marie felt her body fall to the ground and her chin pounding violently against the floor. A groan of pain stifled from her lips.

"Malfoy?" said the voice. Marie thought she recognized it, but her mind was too lost from the pain that her bad fall had caused to try to figure out who the voice belonged to.She slowly got up from the ground but Malfoy's back pressing her little body against the corner of the wall, prevented the boy from glimpsing her figure hidden in the dark."Potter." Malfoy spat angrily. "What are you doing here?"

"I ask myself the same question too." He retorted as he walked past him and pulled Marie's arm to him. "And what are you doing with Malfoy at this time of night?" he asked, focusing his eyes on hers. He took his hand out of his pocket and slowly brought it to her face, gently rubbing the trickle of blood that stained her lips. She lifted her chin to meet his gaze, blending her caramel eyes with Harry's emerald green ones. "Did he hurt you?" he asked again but in a calmer tone. The fingers were still resting on her face, the thumb caressing her face like a crystal of the most fragile material. No one had ever touched her like that, not even her father Sirius dared to caress her. He was more of a man who showed his affection with words but never with physical contact. No handshakes, no kisses or caresses. And it took a few moments for Marie to come to her senses and make Harry's hand move away from her face. "It's alright, I just tripped." she hastily replied, stumbling her words.

"So? Do you want to tell us why you are here or can we go on?" Malfoy intervened, turning Harry in his direction. Marie did the same, carefully scrutinizing the contracted features that rubbed his face in irritation. Then they fell back on Harry, perhaps a little lower, in the sweatshirt pocket from which the corner of an old yellowish parchment protruded. Marie's lips tightened in a thin line as she worked out a solution to have Harry chased away without him having any suspicions of them. Their first meeting was enough to make her understand that it would not be easy to bond a friendship. He kept an eye on her, and the parchment he hid in his pocket was a proof.

"Stupeficium." she murmured behind him as a blinding light hit the young wizard's back. She closed her eyes and waited for his body to be completely helpless before kneeling and pulling the old age-worn parchment out of his pocket.

"What the fuck are you doing? If anyone saw us I swear that-""Silencio," she said pointing her wand at him. Then she turned her attention back to the paper she held in her fingers. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good! " She said in a low voice, touching the parchment with the tip of her wand. This, as she suspected, turned out to be on a map. The Marauder's Map.

Sirius often told her about it. Both sat on the ground with the flames of the fireplace warming their bodies numb from the cold. Every Saturday, they prepared something hot and sat in some corner to navigate the past. He gave voice to the memories, Marie listened.Moments that became a ritual, a routine that never stopped.

"It's a map that shows all the secret passages of the school and also where all the people in the castle are." She explained standing up. Malfoy joined her and snatched the parchment from her hands. "No, we can't take it. Even if we oblivious to Harry, Hermione or Ron would notice." she said, taking back the paper he had torn off her earlier. She restored it to its original state and slipped it back into Harry's pocket.

She tightened her grip on her wand and before undoing the silencing spell on Malfoy, she walked over to Harry and pointed the end of the wand at her temple.

"Obliviate".

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