My Father's Only Rule {DRACO MALFOY X SNAPE'S DAUGHTER}

Chapter Four: Trouble In Paradise

September 1996 - Hogwarts Express/Hogwarts

"So what was Draco doing with that weird-looking cabinet?" Harry said on the train to Hogwarts. "And who were all those people? Don't you see? It was a ceremony. An initiation."

"Stop it, Harry," I said. I couldn't stand to hear him talk about Draco.

"Oh come on, Harry," Hermione said. "I know where you're going with this."

"It's happened. He's one of them." I knew what he was talking about. And I believed it. And it broke my heart.

"One of what?" Ron said. Hermione sighed.

"Harry is under the impression that Draco Malfoy is now a death eater," Hermione said.

"You're barking," Ron scoffed. "What would you know who want with a sod like Malfoy?"

"Well, then what was he doing in Borgin and Burkes?" Harry said. "Browsing for furniture?"

"It's a creepy shop and he's a creepy bloke," Ron said.

"Look," Harry said. "His father is a death eater. It only makes sense. Besides, Hermione saw it with her own eyes."

"I told you. I don't know what I saw," Hermione protested. Harry seemed tense. He needed to relax. I held his hand that rested on his knee, hoping he would relax. But almost immediately, he stood up and walked out.

"I need some air," he said. He grabbed something off of the shelf above us and walked away. Wow. He really just did that to me.

"I'm sorry, Grace," Hermione said. "I don't know what's gotten into him. Or why he's got these strange ideas." But it wasn't strange. It was true. But there's no way that my Draco willingly became a death eater. My Draco is better than that. Either he didn't have a choice, or maybe he wasn't my Draco anymore.

I wanted to go see Jane, but I knew she'd be sitting with Draco and the rest. Harry didn't come back for the rest of the trip. We looked for him everywhere as we got off the train. We found Ginny and Neville, and the five of us made our way down to the great hall. Harry was nowhere to be found. I wanted to be nervous for him. I mean, my boyfriend was missing. But a part of me just didn't care. We all sat in the great hall enjoying the feast after the sorting. Ron was enjoying it a little more than the rest of us. He was eating drumstick after drumstick, stuffing his mouth with all the food he could grab. Hermione and Ginny looked worried, but I had caught a glimpse of Draco, and I couldn't look away.

"Don't worry," Ron said through a mouth full of food. "He'll be here in a minute." Hermione slowly turned toward him and stared at him with an angry look.

"Will you stop eating?" she said as she hit his shoulder with a book at every word. "Your best friend is missing."

"Oi," Ron said. "Turn around ya lunatic." Ron went back to his food and we all turned to see Harry walking down the aisle with a bloody nose.

"He's covered in blood again," Ginny said. "Why is it he's always covered in blood?"

"Looks like it's his own this time," Ron commented. I moved over so he could sit next to me.

"Where have you been?" Hermione begged. "And what's happened to your face."

"Later," Harry said, disregarding my attempt to hold his hand. "What have I missed?"

"The sorting hat urged us to be brave in these troubled times," Ron said. "Easy for him to say. He's a hat, isn't he?" Suddenly, Dumbledore peered over the podium, ready to give a speech.

"Very best of evenings to you all," Dumbledore announced. "First off, let me introduce the newest member of our staff. Horace Slughorn." A man who I assumed to be Horace Slughorn stood up and accepted our welcoming applause. "Professor Slughorn, I'm happy to say, has agreed to resume his old post as potions master." Potions master? No that can't be right. That's my dad. "Meanwhile, the post of defense against the dark arts will be filled by Professor Snape." Murmuring echoed amongst the crowd as nobody knew whether to clap or not. Except for Slytherin table. Slytherin table burst into applause, except for Draco. He sat with his head resting on his hand looking pathetically into the distance. Why did he look so sad?

"Now, as you know," Dumbledore continued. "Each and every one of you was searched upon your arrival here tonight. And you have the right to know why. Once there was a young man who, like you, sat in this very hall, walked this castle's corridors, and slept under its roof. He seemed to all the world a student like any other. His name? Tom Riddle. Today, of course, he's known all over the world by another name. Which is why, as I stand looking out upon you all tonight, I'm reminded of a sobering fact. Every day, every hour, at this very minute, dark forces attempt to penetrate this castle's walls. But in the end, our greatest weapon is you. Something to think about...Now off to bed. Pip-pip."

Muttering filled the room as we all made our way to the common room. We all sat by the fire that night comparing schedules. Ron and Hermione eventually went to bed, leaving Harry and me alone. I decided to get to the bottom of what was going on.

"Harry," I said. He didn't hear me. He was zoned out. "Harry," I said again.

"Huh?" he said, coming to his senses. "What? What is it?"

"What's going on with you?" I asked.

"What do you mean?" I stared at him for a moment, bewildered. Then I blatantly put my hand on his thigh. Nothing. I grabbed his hand and held it, all while keeping eye contact. Still nothing. I ran my hand through his hair, waiting for some kind of reaction from him. But he did nothing.

"Harry, what would you do if I just like pulled your shirt off of you like right here, right now?" Provocatively thinking? Yes. Point-making? Also yes.

"Grace!" he said as if something was wrong with me.

"If I woke up the entire castle with a ballad of how much I adore my boyfriend, Harry Potter, would you think it's romantic or would you be mortified?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Jesus, Harry," I said. "What if we just started making out? Like right here." He stared blankly at me. And admittedly, I was being a little ridiculous. "Like if I passionately threw myself into your arms and started making out with you on this couch, what would you do?" I waited for his response, but he just stared at me wildly. "Really?" I asked. "Nothing?"

"I'm sorry, Grace," he said. But he didn't sound sorry. "I've just got a lot on my mind right now." He turned his gaze away from me and continued to stare out into nothingness. I'd had enough.

"Fine," I said as I stood up swiftly and walked away.

"Grace!" he said, trying to stop me. "Where are you going?"

"To talk to someone who gives me attention," I said. I entered my room to find Jane waiting for me as if she knew I was coming for her.

"Hey!" She said. "You made it through a sorting ceremony where you stayed in your house!" Then she saw my frustrated face. "What? Who's giving you shit?"

"Harry is getting on my nerves," I groaned. I threw myself on the bed. "He's just not giving me anything. No emotion. It's like he's fallen out of love or something."

"Damn," she said. "I'm sorry."

"It's nothing," I said. "I don't want to think about him. How are things with Blaise?"

"No boys," Jane said. "Let's not talk about boys."

"Why? Is Blaise bothering you?"

"No. Everything is fine between us. Let's just talk about something else."

I did my best to try to tell Jane what was going on without telling her everything. Especially since her family was so unproblematic during the whole war. I tried to explain Dumbledore being my new dad in a way that made sense, doing my best not to bring up Harry or Draco. And thankfully, we managed to get off the topic of boys and wars. By the end of the night, we were laughing about something stupid that Pansy said.