An Unbreakable Vow ~ Harry Potter

xxviii - in which moody uncovers a secret

The room was cold and cluttered with people. Moody stood commandingly at the front, brandishing his wad with a hand on his belt.

"Today, we will be learning the secrets of the Dark Arts, and what they might be hiding from you. You will not need your textbooks today, so put them back in your bags. Potter, I expect you to not be talking to Weasley this entire time. Faire, same goes for you and Longbottom. No — Miss Granger, I will not be giving out extra credit for who answers the most questions. Nor will I be over excessive with house points. That will do."

The closing of textbooks could be heard all about the echoey room. There were hushed voices as the students speculated what Moody could be talking about. Valerie stuck close by Hermione, trying to avoid looking at Harry on the other side of her. Ron stuck his tongue out at her and crossed his eyes, which made her put a hand to her mouth to stop a laugh from escaping.

"...There are several kinds of dark magic, and some are connected to hiding secrets. I assume you've learned spells like Alohamora. When something is sealed by dark magic, or sealed from dark magic, simple unlocking spells will not be strong enough to open it. There is one spell in particular that is hard to execute, but when done correctly, can unlock anything. Whether it be a chest, a door, a locket..."

Harry managed to catch Valerie's eye. Valerie could practically hear his thoughts. He knew exactly what she was thinking, because he was thinking it, too.

Moody knew something.

Valerie instinctively tucked her locket under her shirt and tried to listen to the lesson. Her head swam as she tried to block out the panic attack that was impending on her. This always happens. When something hit too close to her past, her instinct was to lock it out, to draw away.

She felt a hand slip into hers, a rough one against her smooth skin. She almost flinched from the physical contact in one of her most painful moments, but she didn't let go. She knew it was Harry; she could tell by the way he squeezed it slightly. Her cheeks heated up when she glimpsed Hermione staring at Harry's hand in hers under the table with astonishment.

Harry indistinctly leaned closer to her and whispered in her ear so only she could hear. "I'm sorry about last night. I do think about you, all the time. I really wanted to make it magical for you. I'll be here whenever I can."

Though Valerie had tried to avoid Harry all morning, she found himself incredibly drawn to him at this moment. He was the only one who knew all of her faults and fears. He was the only one who asked how she was doing, who cared.

It just wasn't the same with Ron and Hermione. They were her best friends, but with Harry, it was something deeper. At least, she believed that it was something deeper.

Valerie just didn't think that Harry felt the same way.

So why did he confuse her? Why did he make her think that he might love her back, then slam her right back into the friend zone? What was it about him that made her unable to let go of him despite all of this?

"...The spell is dissero. Now, you need to focus on using this. Here, I have a charmed lock. Watch as I..."

(A/N): More lore? Wow, I'm finally going somewhere in the story - I'm so proud of myself.