Monsters

twenty eight

"Can we talk about this now?" Theo asks after a long moment of silence. Draco looks to me and I nod at the boys. All of them staring at me and waiting for me to say something, anything.

"Not here." Draco says as he takes my hand and pulls me out of the common room. Blaise and Theo stare for a moment and then I hear them follow us. I hear them ask questions like 'where are we going?' But Draco didn't answer and neither did I. We just kept walking until we got to the wall where the room of requirements door shows up, and when it forms we head inside.

"The room of requirements. I should have known." Theo says once we're all inside.

Draco goes straight to the couch and sits down, pulling me on his lap. The other boys follow and sit down beside us. There was another moment of silence before Blaise spoke up.

"Does it hurt still...?" He asks me, looking at my covered up arm. I nod slightly, looking at Draco's hand holding mine. Avoiding all eye contact. The room felt heavy and tense, all eyes on me.

"When did it happen?" Theo asks.

"Yesterday." Draco answers. "I found out a little before I came to the common room."

"So when I asked you if you were alright, this is what you were dealing with?" Theo asks.

I nod.

"Maya, you could have told me." Theo says gently.

"I know...." I say but pause to look up at Theo. "I was just.. embarrassed."

"Who else knows?" Blaise asks.

"Just you guys and Pansy." I say.

"Why did you tell Malfoy but not us? Not me?" Theo asks.

"I didn't tell him." I say. I pause again and take a deep breathe. "My arm was burning. I came here to meet him and the pain got so bad I started crying. He figured it out. Not sure how he figured it out..."

"I remembered how it felt when I got it." He speaks up as everyone turns to look at him. "I felt the same way."

"Yeah I remember the pain. It lasted forever." Theo admits.

Wait.

"Same, felt like nothing could get rid of that burning feeling." Blaise adds.

My eyes dart up and look between the two boys and then fall back on Draco. He nods slightly and squeezes my hand a little.

"You didn't tell her about us?" Blaise says.

"I mentioned it I think. It wasn't my place to go into detail." Malfoy says in defence.

"Yes, we were forced into it by our parents." Theo says, "and no we didn't want to."

"Welcome to the club of fucked up Slytherins, Maya Potter." Blaise jokes and bows at me which causes everyone to laugh a little. You can always count on Blaise to make a tense room feel less awful.

Then it hit me.

Forced into it by their parents.

Does that mean...?

"Olivia?" I ask. It took Theo by surprise and he pauses before shaking his head.

"Not yet. That's why she doesn't go here." He explains. "But she will have to eventually."

"Oh." Is all I could say. I lean back on to Draco's chest and he wraps his arm around me a little tighter to hold me.

"I still can't believe you two are together." Blaise says with a smirk. "How the fuck did that even happen?"

"He started acting like a decent human towards me, we start to spend time together, he realizes that I'm actually really cool and falls for me." I say sarcastically.

"Oh yeah. That's totally what happened." Draco says, rolling his eyes playfully.

"That makes sense to me." Theo adds.

"Yeah, same here." Blaise teases.

"Honestly, it started in detention when we were forced to spend time together." I admit.

"I knew it." Theo says.

"He found out that Harry and I don't actually talk, therefore I can't be a spy for him." I say. "And then he was talking to me more and not just to insult me. He even told Pansy he would rather be alone with me than her."

"She did not like that at all." Draco adds.

"But how did you guys start dating. Like why?" Blaise asks. "You guys hated each other so much."

"I didn't hate him. Well... okay yeah. I hated him because he was rude for no reason." I say.

"But then I stopped and started to realize she is going through a lot of shit." Draco adds. "A lot of shit I can relate to."

"So he started prying so I started being less quiet around him."

"Except she got too close and I tried to tell her to run before it was too late." Draco adds.

"It's too late now." I say jokingly, the boys give me an odd look. "Too soon for jokes?"

"Yes." Theo says with a smile.

"Whatever."

"So have you guys... you know?" Blaise asks. I feel my face start to get hot.

"Yes, Zabini." Malfoy says and I hit him in the chest but that doesn't stop him. "She's wild." He adds.

"shut up!" I demand, burying my burning hot face in his chest to hide the fact that I'm probably the colour of the Weasleys hair.

"I did not need to know that much." Theo adds. "But that explains why she thought Fred was boring."

"Oh right. I forgot you slept with a Weasley." Draco says, sounding disguised.

"Yes, I did. So what? You slept with Pansy." I growl.

"Fair point." Blaise smirks.

"So did you." Theo adds.

"Shut the fuck up." Blaise shouts.

There was a pause where everyone was laughing at Blaise.

"So what happens now....?" I ask, prying my face from Draco's chest and looking at all of the boys.

"Not sure. We're all in it together though." Theo says, sending me a reassuring look. "But we need to stop keeping secrets."

"It was two secrets." Draco adds. "And one only lasted a few days and the other you found out about on Christmas."

"You knew about them and didn't tell me?!" Blaise growls.

"Well yeah, you were sleeping with Pansy." Theo reminds him.

"Right."

It was at that moment where it felt like I finally found my place. My group of people. Although we were all marked by the devil, forced into a war we wanted nothing to do with, we at least have each other to lean on. I felt safe with them. We all knew each other's deepest secrets and accepted one another.