Belong (D.M)

Part thirtyfive

Time froze as she stood before Harry in the cold corridor. Her friend looked more serious than she had ever seen before, and she could feel her heart getting caught in her throat. He had seen her with him, and the map tells no lies.

"You've been spying on me?" she questioned, feeling her voice shake slightly.

"Not intentionally" Harry said.

"You can't spy on someone unintentionally Harry"

"Ellie" he breathed, looking at her "why are you with Malfoy? Tell me, does he have anything on you?"

"No" she said, shaking her head "and it's none of your business Harry"

"He is up to something Ellie, his family is connected to you know who so yes it is my business" Harry said, raising his voice at her.

"He's not dangerous Harry" she spat back.

"Ellie he's the enemy" 

"He's not a villain, he's just a boy" she breathed.

Harry took a step closer to her, laying his hand on her upper arm.

"Ellie look, I know you see the good in everyone but Malfoy... Malfoy isn't good, he is vile and cruel and selfish, and he might as well be working with the dark lord"

She pushed her lips together, trying to fight off the tears that threatened to fall from her green eyes. What Harry was saying felt unfair.

"Tell me if he has anything on you, I can help you Ellie"

"He doesn't have anything on me Harry" she said, stepping away from him "and I barely know him, I talk to him occasionally but it's never anything below the surface I promise, I think he's depressed"

Harry looked at her with uncertainty in his eyes.

"You talk to him occasionally? Like at midnight?"

"He has a habit of popping up wherever I go when I can't sleep, as I said I think he's depressed so he's not sleeping well but I don't know"

She lied, not wanting to tell Harry all of Draco's secrets for that felt unfair to the blonde boy. His secrets were not hers to tell, and she feared that Harry would try to use them against him.

"Ellie be careful around him okay? And tell me if he tries anything"

"I will Harry" she assured him before she turned on her heel "I have to go, I have a ton of homework"

She walked off, leaving the boy with the scar upon his forehead standing alone in the corridor. She rushed back towards the Gryffindor common room, and as she stepped onto the seventh floor she bumped into him, Draco Malfoy with his piercing eyes.

"Ellie? Ellie are you okay?" he asked, grabbing a hold of her.

"No no" she breathed hastily "I can't be with you, I can't be seen with you"

She tried to rush off but he held onto her, gazing upon her with confusion in his eyes.

"What's wrong my love?"

"I can't Draco" she said, looking at him as she felt hot tears streaming down her cheeks "my friends..."

"Your friends said something about me?" he asked, looking straight at her.

She stood quiet for a moment, fearing that Harry would come barging into the corridor at any given minute now. She didn't want to tell Draco about Harry seeing them on his magical map, it would do no good. It would only make Draco more upset and paranoid than he already seemed to be, and she knew that there was no way for her to disguise them from it either. The only thing she could do in order not to be seen by Harry was to not meet up with Draco from now on.

"I need to go Draco" she mumbled, her voice shaking as she looked around the corridor.

"Not like this" he said, pulling her closer "you're clearly upset, I won't leave you alone when you're upset, that would be foolish of me"

"You are a fool remember?" she pointed out, laughing through her tears.

"Yes" he smiled, stroking her arm "I'm a fool for you, but I'm no common fool my dear"

She laughed and he pulled her with him, leaving the seventh floor corridor behind them. He led them into secluded area of the school and sat her down, laying a arm around her.

"Who upset you? Who do I need to hex?" he asked, looking at her with a teasing smile.

"No one" she laughed, wiping her tears "it's just that my friends... my friends they keep telling me that you're the bad guy"

"I'm sorry what were you saying?" he asked, smiling at her "I keep getting lost in your eyes"

"Charming" she laughed, smacking him on the arm.

"I'm just trying to get you to stop crying" he said, stroking her cheek "but you do have magnificently beautiful eyes my darling"

"Thank you" she said, laying her head on his shoulder "but that's beside the point"

"Your point is?" he asked.

"That my friends keep calling you their enemy, a villain with a dark heart, but I know that it's just not you"

"Look Ellie" he breathed "they're not wrong, I'm not exactly an angel"

"You are not a bad person Draco"

"Yes Ellie, I think I am" he breathed, looking down at her "you don't know what I'm capable, you don't know what I've done"

She closed her eyes for a moment, nuzzling her nose into the crook of his neck as she breathed his familiar scent in. His neck felt soft, and his skin was radiating warmth. 

"Maybe I don't" she said, opening her eyes "but I promise you that I will stay if you tell me"

"You can't make that promise Ellie"

"Yes I can Draco"

"No you can't my darling" he sighed, stroking her hair "if you knew all the horrible things I have done and will have to do, you wouldn't stay here with me, trust me"

"You're wrong" she breathed.

"I'm really not Ellie"

"Yes you are" she argued "and I'm going to prove you wrong, see it has turned out to be a hobby of mine to prove you wrong"

He laughed, shaking his head slightly as she closed her eyes. Silence engulfed them, making everything feel peaceful for a moment. She wondered what he meant, what horrible things he was capable of. However she did not want to push him, she did not want to intrude. Instead she sat in silence, simply enjoying his presence and his warmth. The thought of Harry seeing them on his map crossed her mind, but she could not seem to pull away from the pale boy. His soft skin and his icy grey eyes were intoxicating, and no matter how far she strayed they always seemed to pull her back to him.

"I'm scared Ellie, on so many levels"

"If I could I would kiss away all your scars" she said sweetly, placing a gentle kiss on his shoulder. He reached his hand up to stroke her hair once more, entangling his fingers into her brown curls. On his ring finger she saw a silver Slytherin ring, he often wore it.

"Sometimes I don't get you Draco" she hummed, looking out of the window before them "or well most times actually, I don't understand how you can call yourself a villain, and I don't really understand why you spent so many years acting like a self absorbed bully, there's clearly a softer side to you, why haven't you ever let anyone see that side?"

"If you met my family you would understand" he sighed, twirling a strand of her hair in between his thumb and index finger.

"Some people seem to be born with tragedy in their blood" she spoke, looking up at him.

"Maybe" he sighed "it's such a tragedy isn't it?"

She nodded her head, and he continued to gently twirl her hair in between his fingers. She wondered about his family, the wealthy pureblood Malfoy's. She assumed that their history was slightly darker than they liked to show off, but Draco however seemed to be greatly loved but both his mother and father. But what did she know?

She thought about him, and how much he had changed over the past few years. He went from being a young bothersome oppressor with snarky remarks and slicked back hair to a conflicted dispirited adolescent with gaunt cheeks and sickly pale skin. His eyes had once sparkled with the joy of life, and now they seemed hollow and uncertain. It was like the fear of death lingered in his icy orbs, eating away at him from the inside.

"It will all be okay Draco" she breathed.

"I'm so in love with you Ellie"

....

Gryffindor played a Quidditch match against Hufflepuff, and Cormac McLaggen played as keeper instead of Ron, who was still in the infirmary. Dean Thomas had replaced Katie Bell as chaser until she was well enough to come back from St. Mungos. The whole school was there cheering, even her. But she did not see him in the stands, the pale boy who loved her.

Cormac was not a very good player, seeing as he managed to both let in quite a few goals and hit Harry with a bludger. Hufflepuff defeated Gryffindor with a staggering 320-60, which made the students dressed in canary yellow overjoyed. The students dressed in scarlet did not feel like celebrating, and mostly everyone worried over Harry who had been knocked unconscious by a the bludger that hit his skull. He was quickly taken to the infirmary, and everyone left the Quidditch pitch.

"At least Ron won't be alone in there" she said to Hermione to lighten the mood.

"I mean that's something" Hermione laughed, still looking worried "I just hope he's okay, that was a rough blow"

Ron and Harry left the hospital wing two days later, and Hermione was quick to inform them about all that they had missed, which wasn't much really, mostly just boring homework and classes for Ron's part.

Classes continued and on a Monday afternoon, as she was walking from her common room towards the infirmary, she saw him. The pale blonde Slytherin boy was once more up on the seventh floor of the castle, and she wondered what he was doing here now. 

The seventh floor is home to the entrance to the Hogwarts headmaster's office, professor Flitwick's office and the entrance to the Gryffindor student home. And the Room of Requirement opposite a tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy trying to teach trolls to dance the ballet of course, but it was rarely visible. 

He did not seem to see her as she stopped to watch him walking. She wanted to call out his name, but she stopped herself. She observed from the end of the corridor where she stood, and Draco stopped before the empty wall opposite the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy trying to teach trolls to dance the ballet, and before him the wall started to change. A tall black door showed itself, and he quickly stepped inside of it. Right after he was gone, the door disappeared, leaving her standing baffled and alone in the stone corridor.

The appearing of the door did not baffle her, however she was left wondering; why is Draco using the Room of Requirement?  

She quickly came to the conclusion that the disappearing and reappearing room must be the reason why he's up on this floor so often. But why? What is he doing in there?