"It's lonely to be more powerful than any man you know."
- Merlin
Twelve years after Harry Potter defeated Voldemort and put an end to the First Wizarding War, the Wizarding world is shaken by the news that Sirius Black has escaped Azkaban. But no...
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Forcefully wiping a few tears away from her cheeks, Rhea tried to keep her voice from cracking as she said, "Malfoy? What are you doing here?" For pretty much the first time since she started at Hogwarts, Draco Malfoy didn't look scornful or arrogant. In fact, she actually thought he looked kind of concerned as he peered down at her, hand still resting upon her shoulder.
"Are you," Draco cleared his throat, "are you okay?"
"Why wouldn't I be?" Rhea asked, straightening up.
"Because you're crying in the middle of the hallway," Draco deadpanned. It was quite clear to Rhea that this was way out of his comfort zone, judging by the way he struggled to look at her tear-stained cheeks.
"I'm fine," Rhea said, actually a little surprised by how genuinely concerned he appeared to be. Even if he never had been outright hostile or rude towards her, he did seem to have everyone wearing a Gryffindor tie. "Thanks for the concern-"
"I know who you are," Draco suddenly blurted out, making Rhea grow tense. For a moment she could have sworn that her heart stopped beating entirely.
It took her a few seconds to compose herself enough to say, "I should hope so — we have classes together-"
"You know that's not what I meant," Draco said, annoyance flashing in his cold grey eyes. He looked around the corridor in a paranoid manner, making sure no one else was around. "Rhea."
It took everything Rhea had not to visibly react to the mention of her first name. Of all the people she feared would confront her about who she truly was, Draco Malfoy barely made the top five list. They may have played together as babies but neither had any true memories of that; Rhea just knew the things her mother and Lyra had told her.
"My name isn't-" Rhea tried to deny it but Draco wouldn't have any of her lies.
"I know who you are, Rhea," Draco said, still keeping his voice low. "You can deny it all you want, but I know — and I have no intention of telling anyone."
Rhea honestly didn't know how to react. Her first instinct was to tell Draco he was crazy and walk away. She also considered running to Dumbledore and informing him that somebody had figured out her true identity, but then she recalled her mother's words at the train station. Rhea may not know the full extent to why Seraphina Weasley didn't fully trust Albus Dumbledore, but she didn't question it.
She wanted to deny it again. Tell Draco that he was completely nuts and walk away. However, she couldn't bring herself to do so. Claiming to not be Rhea Black wouldn't help her now. Realising that she couldn't continue sitting there in silence, Rhea said, "What makes you think that...?"
