|In The Dark|

82

2 DAYS LATER...
ANNABELLE LUPIN-BLACK

"I love you, dad. I'll miss you." I said as I hugged him. "I love you too." he said. I hugged him and Tonks and then stepped back. "Thank you for letting me stay here, sir." Draco said quietly. He wouldn't look up. He kept his eyes down, avoiding my fathers gaze. "Of course, Draco. You know you're welcome anytime." dad said. "It was wonderful to meet you, Draco. But I think it would be best if you kept it to yourself. I don't want to upset Narcissa." Tonks said. Draco just nodded. Then we got out bags and took a portkey to Kings Cross.

"Do you want to find your friends?" Draco asked as we got on the train. I chuckled. "Don't be stupid, Draco." I said. He smiled and we found an empty compartment. I handed him a cigarette and put one in my mouth. I snapped my fingers and the cigarette lit. "Since when can you do that?" he asked. "It's not that hard. Just a bit of practice." I said. He tried a few times and it didn't work. Eventually he just lit it with his wand. "You'll get it." I said. "Maybe my magic is better suited for murder and torture." he mumbled. I sighed. "Stop that." I said. He shrugged. "You know I'll have to work on that cabinet when we get back," he said. "I know." I said. "And if I don't figure it out-" he started. "Stop. Just- can we just have a little longer where we can pretend to be normal kids?" I asked. He gave a small smile and a nod. "Ok." he said. I nodded back. "So...have you spoken to Theo?" he asked. I glanced over at him. "I think he's a little busy with his girlfriend." I said. "We both know he would rather be with you." Draco mumbled. Before I could respond, the door opened again and Harry, Hermione, and Ron were there. "Fucking hell, Anna. Where the hell have you been?" he exclaimed. He pulled me into his arms and I stood there, hugging him back. "I'm fine, Harry. Really. My dad found me." I said. "We know. But all we got was a letter from him." Hermione said. "You escaped a death eater?" Ron said. "Yes. And then I was with Draco. He's right there, you can say hi. You don't have to pretend he doesn't exist." I said. They looked at him and Draco inhaled deeply on the cigarette. "You can pretend I don't exist, I do the same thing with you." he said with a shrug. I chuckled and they looked at me. "Why don't you come sit with us, Anna? You know- it's probably...better." Ron said quietly. I frowned. "What the hell does that mean?" I asked. Ron and Harry exchanged looks. "You know what? I don't even want to know. I don't want to hear whatever rude prejudiced thing you were about to say about Draco." I said. "We just think you should sit with your people." Ron said. I laughed and looked at Draco. He chuckled. "My people? My- my people? You have to be fucking kidding!" I exclaimed. Ron's cheeks turned red. "Ron, you spend every minute shagging Lavender Brown and Mione, you spend every minute going out with people to make Ron jealous. And Harry- hell, I don't even want to know what you do with your time. But regardless, you are not my people. You're my friends but that can change very quickly if you continue to treat Draco as less than...understood?" I snapped. They nodded. "Good, now I think it's best if you go. There's not enough room for your hypocrisy in this compartment." I said. I stepped back and closed the door, pulling the curtain down. Then I sat back down and looked at Draco. "You didn't have to do that. I don't care what they say." he said. "I'm sick of Ron's self-righteous crap. It's old." I said. He nodded.

When we got to Hogwarts, I sat at the end of the Gryffindor table, keeping my head down. I could hear Astoria's giggling from across the hall and the one time I looked up, I saw her snogging Theo. The feast was long and boring but when I finally ended, I stood in the doorway and waited for Dumbledore. "Sir?" I said. He stopped in his tracks and looked at me. A single nod from him and I understood. I followed him to his office and we were silent. We went inside and he shut and locked the door, silencing the room. "Annabelle, I heard your holiday was eventful." he said. "Something like that. I need to know, sir, is Draco going to be safe?" I asked. He paused. "Before I tell you anything, I need to know what you will do for me if I save your friends." he said. "I told you. I'll keep your secrets." I said. "Ah, but I'll be dead. Secrets can't be used against me." he said. I sighed. "What do you want from me, sir?" I asked. "What do you know about a position called a secret keeper?" he asked. I paused. "My dads told me about it. I guess you shouldn't have made Pettigrew the secret keeper, huh?" I said. He nodded. "I suppose not. Maybe you can help rectify that mistake. "You want to make me a secret keeper?" I asked. He nodded. "And what secret will I be keeping?" I asked. "Do you accept the position?" he asked. I sighed. Dad will hate this. "Yes, sir. I do." I said. He nodded. "Good," he said. "Now tell me the secret." I said. He smirked. "Have you ever heard of a horcrux?" he asked. "I've never heard of it before." I said. He nodded. "Take a seat." he said. 1 hour later, I walked out of Dumbledore's office, sick to my stomach. "I hate to burden you with this knowledge but that is the price of protection for you and your friends." he had said.

1 MONTH LATER...

"Draco, where were you all day-" I started as I opened his door. It was locked. I felt a wave of panic wash over me. "Draco? Draco, open the door." I said. I pulled on the handle frantically. I pounded on the door and suddenly it opened. "Fucking hell, Anna. I was in the shower." he said. There was a towel wrapped around his waist and he was soaking wet. "Sorry. I just- I got worried." I said quietly as I walked in. "I'm not gonna slit my wrists again. It doesn't work." he mumbled. I looked at him quickly. "I'm kidding." he said. "Don't say stuff like that." I said. "Why? We used to joke about our epic demise all the time." he said with a laugh. He stepped into the bathroom, cracking the door. "I know. But you lost the right to make suicide joke when you almost bled out on your floor." I said. "Key word is almost." he called from the bathroom. I rolled my eyes and he stepped out in his pajamas. "Why are you here?" he asked. "You skipped lessons. I got worried." I said. He nodded. "I was working on the cabinet." he said. I nodded. "I'm running out of time, Anna. School ends in a month." he said. "We'll think of something." I said. "I already did." he said quietly. I frowned. "I did something." he said. I rubbed my temples. "Merlin- Draco, what did you do?" I asked. "It's going to work. There's no way for anyone to get hurt, I swear." he said. "What did you do?" I repeated. "I'm not going to tell you. If you don't know, you won't be lying when something happens." he said. I nodded.