A Quiet Love: Drarry

Chapter 1

Harry Potter couldn't sleep. This wasn't unusual, as most nights he was kept awake by his school work, but tonight was different. Though his sixth year was taking a toll on him, he had finished all his assignments early in the evening and was planning to get to bed early to catch a few extra hours of sleep. However, his thoughts seemed to be the cause of his restlessness, and the more he tried to quiet his mind the more it seemed to think.

Sighing, he slid out of bed and dressed, then grabbed his invisibility cloak quietly as an afterthought. On nights like these when he knew sleep wouldn't come, it was his habit to wander around the castle, and if no one was around and the weather was alright, he would slip out into the cool night air to clear his mind. He crept out of his dormitory and the Gryffindor common room, peering down the corridor before slipping on the invisibility cloak and shuffling to the entrance of the castle.

Tonight his mind seemed to keep going back to Sirius, his godfather who had died just a few months ago in Harry's fifth year during the Battle of the Department of Mysteries. He somberly exited through the doors of the castle onto the expansive lawn, which had a soft gleam of moonlight shining on it. His thoughts wandered back to when he had first met Sirius, back when he was terrified of him and thought he was a murderer, back when he couldn't have been more wrong. He smiled to himself as he remembered his young, third year self causing mischief with his best friends Ron and Hermione and how they had inadvertently run into Sirius in the Shrieking Shack.

He suddenly stopped and turned in the other direction, straight towards the Whomping Willow. He abruptly made the decision to go back to the Shrieking Shack, where he had met Sirius a few years ago. He hadn't been there since that absurd night, and he felt that maybe the storm of thoughts raging in his head would finally calm down if he felt near to Sirius again. He approached the tree with caution, picking up a long branch on the ground and gingerly touching the knot on the tree that would stop it from trying to smash his head in.

"Ah!" yelled Harry, ducking suddenly as the tree took a swing at him. "Blimey," he muttered, finally touching the stick to the tree and walking towards the entrance, slipping into the hollow of the trunk and crouching down to make his way through the narrow passage. After what felt like forever, he reached the edge and came up in the Shrieking Shack. He had removed his cloak, as he knew no one would see him here, but suddenly he froze.

Directly above him, Harry could hear the unmistakable sound of voices.

One voice was clearer than all the others, and Harry recognized it almost instantly. It was none other than his archenemy, Draco Malfoy.

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Draco was terrified. He would never show it, because that certainly wasn't how his father raised him, but beneath his cold, hard eyes and pale complexion his heart was racing in his chest and his palms were sweating. He looked around cautiously at the dozen other Death Eater's surrounding him, trying to put up a brave front.

"Lucius, has your son made ANY progress?" A hooded figure growled from the shadows, their face hidden so Draco couldn't recognize who it was. He suddenly felt an icy grip on his shoulder, and recognized it as the cold touch of his father. It was the only kind of physical contact he ever allowed Draco, there were never any signs of affection. Malfoys weren't too big on that sort of thing.

"Draco is only being cautious about his work, isn't that right, Draco?" His father droned in his usual cold, steely tone, and Draco nodded obediently.

"The Dark Lord is growing impatient," said Walden Macnair, another Death Eater. "He expected that a Malfoy would have gotten to Harry Potter quicker; after all the boy is rather thick. How hard is it, Draco?" He smirked, as if he could sense Draco's fear.

"I'm working on it, I just-'' he had nothing else to say, no excuses, no reason that he shouldn't have been able to have already captured Harry. He glanced at his father for help, but Lucius offered nothing. He was trapped, and he knew what happened to people who didn't fulfill Voldemort's wishes immediately.

Macnair stepped forward, a cold grin plastered on his face. "You know, Draco, the Dark Lord gave me his instructions himself tonight. He told me that if you hadn't accomplished anything by this meeting to...dispose of you..." He reached into his robes and pulled out his wand casually.

Draco stepped back unconsciously, bumping into his father and mother. Narcissa had a look of pure shock on her face, but Lucius had a neutral expression. Draco stared at him for a moment, his grey eyes calling out desperately for help. Lucius opened his mouth to speak, but before the words came out there was a crash from the first floor.

"What the bloody hell..." one of the Death Eater's said, and stepped forward to peer down the staircase, but there was nothing there.

"We cannot risk anything else here tonight, we will meet again later and discuss your son's future." Macnair muttered to Lucius, brushing by him. Draco heaved a massive sigh of relief as the Death Eaters, one by one, began to disapparate out of the Shrieking Shack. Finally it was just him and his parents left, and he could hardly meet his father's eye.

"I expected more from you, Draco." Lucius sighed. "Don't disappoint me again." And that was all that needed to be said. "Come, Narcissa." His mother gave him a sympathetic look, took her husband's arm, and then they were gone with a flash of light. Draco was left alone, now close to tears.

Harry was his biggest enemy, yes, but Draco truly didn't think he had it in him just to bring Harry to Voldemort to be killed. He remembered his first year, when he thought that maybe he and Harry could have even been friends. Now, five years later, they couldn't have been further from that.

He sighed and crept towards the passage that led back to Hogwarts, eager to get into bed to catch a few hours of sleep, but then he remembered that something had been downstairs. Anxiously he crept down, his wand out, and finally reached the passage unharmed. He heaved a sigh of relief, and then ran right into something.

He fell to the ground and scrambled up, and to his amazement none other than Harry Potter was standing there in front of him, looking just as shocked as Draco.

Thank you guys so much for reading my story, it starts slow but will pick up soon! All comments and reviews are greatly appreciated :)