Liberty - A Harry Potter fan fiction

Chapter 13 - Thrown Together

I heard voices while I was unconscious, though I could never decipher who they belonged to. I was later told that I cried out in my sleep, muttering unforgiveable curses along with other jinxes and spells. And a name... Draco. 

I'd never called him anything but Malfoy before and didn't believe his mother, Narcissa when she first told me. She was ultimately the one who stuck by me, overseeing that I had a full recovery. I think she was afraid to face her own sister and husband. Or maybe she felt she owed me. I was responsible for saving her only child's life. Malfoy came by often, bringing her meals and asking of me. I could tell Narcissa began to truly care for me, whereas Bellatrix just wanted to turn me into a younger version of herself.

I was out for 6 days total, missing my own 17th birthday. I was now officially "Traceless" as it was called once a witch or wizard reached the age of 17. I could now do whatever magic I wanted.

My first day off bedrest, my leg properly mended to its former state and my mental and  emotional wellbeing stable, I took my time walking around the grounds of Malfoy Manor. Bellatrix had seen me leave my room and fixed her cold eyes on me. It was obvious that I was being shunned by her. I heard her cackle to Lucius Malfoy that I was lucky the Dark Lord hadn't killed me for my outburst.

The grounds were beautiful, but in a sad way. There were weeds growing through the cracks in the cobblestoned walkway and the grass was long overdue to be cut. I weaved my way through the back yard and smiled at a muggle looking playground to my right. I could picture a younger version of Malfoy playing there, with no cares or worries in the world.

Straight ahead of me I saw a maze. I couldn't resist entering. I'd always loved the sense of mystery that surround them. I looked in through the entrance and saw a mist from the ground to just above my ankles. It was also dark inside, which I didn't expect with the sun being directly overhead.

"Using the "lumos" incantation, I made my way into the maze. I soon lost track of time, each turn and twist took me further in. I'd heard that being in a maze alone made you lose a sense of yourself, but I felt perfectly at ease. I saw a part in the hedges up ahead and pushed my way through. It opened up to a forest, not much different than any other forest I'd ever seen, with the exception of the forbidden one at Hogwarts.

Hogwarts! I wondered what had happened after we left. I thought about this for a few minutes until I heard a twig snap in the maze behind me. I whirled around and held my wand ready. I wasn't prepared to see Malfoy come out of the exit however. I'd heard no one inside the maze but he had to have been close behind me. I lowered my wand and felt the expression on my face change from one of determined apprehension to one of joy. Realizing just what I was feeling, I forced myself to frown. My feelings were confusing me a lot lately.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, stopping a few feet away from me.

"Good as new," I replied. I noticed that his face was pretty bruised up. I longed to kiss him but made myself hold back. "You look like shit."

"Aunt Trix thought I deserved a few bruises."

"Why?"

He shuffled his feet and averted his eyes from mine. I sat down on a log that was right along the forest edge and patted the spot next to me. He sat and we settled into silence. A silence that I sat thinking about how much I wanted to kiss him.

"Why did she do this to you?" I asked again, more persistent this time.

He took a breath and looked at me, his cheeks slightly pink. I took note that he looked at my lips rather than my eyes.

"Aunt Trix has it in her mind that we're a pair of stupid teenagers," It didn't register in my mind so he continued. "She seems to think that we... That when she found is in school that things were about to get... Intimate." 

Realization dawned on me. I let out a strangled laugh of surprise. 

"And did you say anything to dissuade her?" My heartbeat quickened.

"I told her she was wrong. But she'd already gone to the Dark Lord with her story. He believes her and has plans."

"Plans for what?" I felt panicked.

"I- I'm not sure."

"Great." I said sarcastically, completing it with a roll of my eyes. Things were just looking better and better. I stood up.

"I know, I know," He stood beside me, his face flashing with annoyance. "I'm not particularly fond of you either, you know. But I don't hate you. That's a start, isn't it?"

He made the last part sound like a question. I had to admit that he was right and told him so. I thought about this sudden change in events and found myself laughing. I'd went from a friendless loser, to a death eater and now had somehow become an alleged love struck teenager. With this arrogant Slytherin boy. And the part I hated the absolute most, I certainly had taken a liking to him.

"So, what are we supposed to do?"

"You know, there's only one way to figure things out."

He smirked at me and closed the gap between us in a millisecond, taking my lips to his. I melted at his touch. It seemed that every time we kissed, my affections for him grew. It had all been innocent and fun before but now there was a hidden urgency behind it. As he bit my bottom lip, just a quick snip, and I gasped. My eyes shot open at the sound of his laugh, a laugh that for the first time didn't seem to be taunting or malicious. Taking advantage of my open mouth, he prodded my tongue with his.

My legs felt as if someone had hit me with a jelly legs jinx and I grasped onto him, praying not to fall. His hands found their way to my hair, pulling gently. A small sound flowed from my lips as a tingling sensation rocked my body, pooling around the front of my lower body. I felt myself grip the front of his shirt and pull him closer. I heard him moan into my mouth and felt something hard and firm on my thigh.

As if realizing what we'd permitted to happen, Malfoy let go of me, shoving me gently away. We watched each other as our breath returned to normal and the flush left our cheeks. A few minutes later, we were well enough to attempt speaking.

"Maybe aunt Trix was right," He said.

"Yes," I said breathily and cleared my throat, returning it to normal. "I think it's possible."

"There's one more thing I haven't told you. Aunt Trix says we have to share a room. Says you don't deserve one. It was my room on the dungeon." 

I was about to protest when he kissed me again. A quick one, as if sealing a deal I didn't know we were trying to strike. He brought his hand to mine, blending our fingers together.

"Come on. It would help us to play the part." He added with a wicked smile, a glimpse of his former cocky self showing through.

"There won't be any type of playing if we share a room," I told him, fixing my stern gaze to his. He moved to kiss me again but I forced him back.

"I don't think either of us can say that for sure," He stated, still grinning at me.

With one last gaze at him, I pulled my hand away and ran straight for the maze entrance. I was desperate to escape from him before I lost what little control I still had for the new turn my path had taken. He was right. And I hated it.