Our Little Secret || Draco Malfoy

Chapter 1.

We're at war.

It was surreal to think it, and it felt even more foreign saying it out loud. But it was real, and it was happening before our very eyes. Across the country, Voldemort's army of supporters grew larger every day, with report after report of people going missing or turning up dead. Fudge had been sacked, very unceremoniously, and replaced by Rufus Scrimgeour, who had the full support of the corrupt Ministry of Magic, namely Dolores Umbridge. They had begun rounding up Muggleborn witches and wizards for questioning, claiming that they were imposters who had stolen their wands from "real witches and wizards". Snape had been named Headmaster of Hogwarts, a move that enraged everyone, especially when we knew the truth of who had killed Dumbledore.

And in the middle of all of this, we were having a wedding.

The Burrow was alive with activity these days as preparations for Bill and Fleur's wedding really began to get underway. I had stayed with Hermione after the term ended, and joined her on the mission to move Harry from the Dursley's home, which went horribly wrong. Even now, weeks later, I can still see the fear in Harry's eyes when he talks about seeing Voldemort flying on thin air, and Bill's flat voice saying "Mad-Eye's dead" echoed in my head. That night, when I was afraid for the life of my brother and the lives of my friends, that was the night that I knew the war had truly begun. And now, as I ascended to the top landing of the Burrow and watched Harry packing things into his rucksack, I knew that he was preparing himself to fight this war on the front lines.

"You're going to leave, aren't you? You and Ron and Hermione?" I said softly, standing in the doorway of Ron's bedroom. Harry looked up at me from his cot and hesitated for a moment before nodding. "We have to find the rest of the Horcruxes, Isa. I have to finish what Dumbledore started." He said, and it almost sounded like he was begging me to believe him. 

I walked over and sat down next to my brother, looking up into his face. "You don't have to explain yourself to me, Harry. This is what you need to do. You've always done the right thing, and it isn't any different now. Just...promise me you'll come home to us, okay?" I said, my voice shaking. Harry nodded and hugged me tightly, smoothing my hair down.

"I'm counting on you to help Ginny and Seamus and Neville keep things under control at Hogwarts. Snape's been appointed Headmaster over McGonagall, but I still don't know how safe you'll be there." Harry said, looking at me seriously. "Snape disavowed me as his daughter the minute I referred to James Potter as my Dad. I doubt I'll have any form of protection at school this year." I said, shaking my head and leaning it on Harry's shoulder.

Through the window, I could see Ron and his brothers raising the tent that would be the marquee for the wedding in a days' time. "Can you believe we're having a wedding in the middle of all this?" I said, letting out a breathy laugh. Harry rubbed my shoulder, gazing out the window too. "I think we need it now more than ever. Something to be happy about." When we were so uncertain of what was to come, and if we would even be alive tomorrow, Harry had never been more right.

Laying in Ginny's room that night, having gone off to bed early, I heard a faint scratching under my cot. I thought it was a mouse for a moment but when I realized it was coming from my bag, I scrambled for it. Ripping the piece of parchment from the confines of my bag, I hurried over to Ginny's desk, grateful for the moonlight illuminating it. A smile spread across my face when I saw Draco's familiar handwriting appearing on the paper.

"I miss you every day, Isabelle. I want you here beside me. Better yet, I want to run away with you, somewhere where they can't find us."

I grabbed the ink and quill that sat on the desk and began writing, sadness and joy both gripping my heart. "I think about you all the time, Draco. It's so dangerous now. There are days where I wonder if I'll wake up to see the sunrise. But I know you won't let anything happen to me, and I won't let anything happen to you. Also, I hear Majorca is wonderful this time of year, let's go, yeah?" I wrote, giggling a little at the idea of Draco and I running off to a tropical island, leaving behind the Wizarding World and just being together. The more I thought about it, honestly, the more attractive the idea became. A scratching noise brought me out of my thoughts and I watched as Draco's words scrawled across the parchment. "I'll fetch you in the morning. Be safe, love. Just a few more weeks and I'll see you again. I love you, Isabelle."