|In The Dark|

63

Occlumency

ANNABELLE LUPIN-BLACK

When I walked into the Great Hall, I saw Draco sitting at the Slytherin table with Blaise, Pansy, Theo and Astoria. They were all talking and laughing. I saw Astoria leaning on Theo and she kissed him. My heart sank and I forced a smile. I walked over and they all looked up at me. "Anna! Join us!" Blaise said. "Yeah, what did Snape want?" Theo asked. "He probably wanted to yell at her for being a badass in class." Blaise said. I chuckled. "He wanted my dad's job so bad, he's got it. But I'm not going to make it easy on the bastard." I said. They laughed. Draco just poked at his food quietly. "Do you want to go smoke?" Blaise asked. "Maybe later. Draco, do you have a minute?" I said. He glanced up at me. "Outside." I said. He nodded and stood up. "Come find us later if you change your mind." Pansy said. I smiled and nodded, then we left. Draco and I walked out and I led us into an old classroom. I silenced the room and he exhaled heavily, leaning against a desk. "What?" he asked. The exhaustion was evident in his voice. "Snape knows." I said. His expression didn't change. He just glanced down and shifted on his heels. "You know?!" I exclaimed. "Yeah." he mumbled. I scoffed. "He trained me. Legilimency and Occlumency." he said. "How many people know?" I asked. "Not many. The Dark Lord, Bellatrix, mum and dad, a few other high level death eaters." he said. "And me." I said. He nodded. "I'm sorry, Anna. I should have told you. I didn't think about it-" he started. "It's fine. I just- he's in the Order." I said. He looked confused. "No, he isn't. He's a death eater." he said. I was quiet. "Why do you think he's in the Order?" he asked. "I just- he works at Hogwarts, I assumed..." I trailed off. I could have told Draco the truth. That I knew for a fact Snape was in the Order. I don't know why I didn't. Maybe because I didn't want to risk Voldemort digging through his memories and finding out. Or maybe I just don't want to give him anything else that he has to keep secret. I don't know. "The Dark Lord trusts him. There's no way-" he started. "You're right. There's no way he's in the Order." I said. He nodded. Then he gave a dry laugh. "You know the funny thing is I'm actually really good at it. Occlumency, I mean." he said. I smiled. "Really?" I said. He nodded. "I've had lots of practice. I've been putting up walls my whole life. Never thought it'd come in handy." he said with a laugh. "I guess your dad was good for something after all." I said. He laughed even more as tears rolled down his cheeks. "Draco," I said, pulling him into a hug. He wrapped his arms around me and I felt the tears fall from his chin to my shoulder. "Don't forget our deal." I whispered. "Olivers gone. He graduated. Dating a bloke named Quincy." he said. I pulled back and looked at him. "Remember what you told me, about last straws. Pick a new one." I said. He nodded. "You." he said. I chuckled. "Good enough." I said. "What about you? Is it still Theo?" he asked. I sighed. "It'll always be him." I said. He nodded. Then I just hugged him.

Later that night, I was in my dorm with Ginny. She was prepping for Quidditch tryouts and I was doing my homework. There was a scratching at our window and I saw Draco's owl. I walked over and fed him a treat in exchange for the note in his beak. Then he flew off. "What's that?" Ginny asked. "Not sure." I replied. I opened the letter and read it. "Meet me at the entrance of the ROR. -D.M." the handwriting scribbled. I quickly put on shoes and grabbed a sweater. "Where are you going? It's past curfew." she said. "Pansy needs help." I said. She nodded. "I'll cover for you if prefects come around." she said. "Thanks Gin." I said. Then I left. When I got to the common room, Harry, Ron and Hermione were sitting there. Hermione was reading and Harry and Ron were playing wizards chess. They stopped talking and looked at me. "Anna! It's past curfew." Hermione said. "Bloody hell, are you off to shag Theo?" Ron asked. Harry gave him a swift kick under the table and Ron groaned. Harry gave a look of worry. "Is everything ok, Anna?" he asked. I nodded. "Then where are you going so late?" he asked. "What are you, my dad?" I asked. Ron laughed. "Harry, I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself." I said. I turned to leave and he spoke again. "Are you sure about that?" he asked. I turned back around. "What?" I said. "I just mean- there's Edmund and what if-" he started. "Harry!" Hermione said sharply. I glared at him. "I have my wand." I said. He didn't speak. "Do you have something to say, Harry?" I asked. He exhaled heavily. "I just want to protect you." he said. "I can protect myself. If Edmund tries to touch me, I'm very capable of killing him myself." I snapped. Their faces fell. Then I left. I snuck through the halls, careful to avoid Filch. When I arrived at the entrance to the ROR, Draco was pacing back and forth. "What's wrong?" I asked. "I just- I don't want to go in alone." he said quietly. I smiled and took his hand. "Let's go." I said. He gave a grateful nod and we walked to the wall. He closed his eyes and the wall shifted. When we went inside, it was a massive room of clutter. He started to look around and I just watched. "I've only seen it twice." I said. He glanced over at me. "Dad, Sirius- he told me that if I come here the room will transform to what I need. So I would come to develop photos from my camera. The only other time I've seen it was for Dumbledore's Army." I said. "I'm sorry I ruined that too." he mumbled. "Let's just find the cabinet." I said.