Skill and Seclusion [2] || Harry Potter x OC x Draco Malfoy

156. L + W

DISCLAIMER

I do not own Harry Potter ... but answers are about to be revealed

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Appearing in Dumbledore's office in a second, Bel was so full of desperation and determination she didn't register the usual discomfort that comes with apparition.

The old man was sat at his desk, quill in hand, rubbing his temple, a strained expression on his face.

Without looking upwards to see the Hufflepuff girl stood opposite him, he merely spoke aloud.

"You're not supposed to apparate on school grounds unless it's an emergency."

"I saw something that pushed me into it", Bel replied, her voice was low and stern.

"And what did you see?" Dumbledore asked, still not looking away from the papers on his desk.

Bel stormed up to him, summoning the quill from his hand to her own, and leant over the desk to scribble something down on the parchment closest to the headmaster.

Turning it around so he could read it, he struggled to maintain an emotionless expression.

L + W

"Any idea what those letters stand for?" Bel asked.

She didn't receive an answer, so she decided to give one herself.

"I do. Lucas and Willow. The names of my parents."

Bel pointed down to the written letters. "And this has been carved into the willow tree in the clearing I have been visiting since first year."

Dumbledore took in a deep breath, but remained silent.

"I find it hard to believe that's merely a coincidence, old man", Bel said, standing up straight, crossing her arms.

The headmaster picked up the piece of paper, reading over the two letters again and again.

"How do you know about Lucas?" he questioned.

"What does that matter?"

"Everything about this matters more than you could possibly know, Mabel."

Hearing him call her by her full name reflected a severity Bel wasn't aware was tied to all of this.

Simply knowing her father's name was being treated like a crime.

"Harry told me. Apparently he met some version of my father in the graveyard, and according to him, it was not the man I have been led to believe he was", Bel explained.

Two versions of her father had been presented to her.

The version everyone had given very little information about, other than he was evil.

Responsible for the death of her mother and the Slytherin side of her heritage.

He was the cause of all her struggles and problems from the off.

A man she hated, and wanted nothing to do with.

But then there was the other version.

The version that had helped save Harry's life, and made him promise to save hers.

A man who was kind and brave.

Someone she wanted to learn more about.

"I'm sick of secrets being kept from me about my family. My father included", Bel continued, sitting down in her usual chair on the other side of the headmaster's desk.