Our Little Secret || Draco Malfoy

Chapter 5.

Our second term was surprisingly normal, at least compared to the last few years here. Harry, however, couldn't let this last and made it his personal mission to prove to everyone that Draco was a Death Eater. Of course, this was when he wasn't off with Dumbledore on their secret memory missions. Harry wouldn't tell me what was going on at his meetings with Dumbledore and to make things worse, Draco was keeping secrets from me now too.

I realized that Draco wasn't being entirely truthful with me a few weeks into the second term, and I found out from Harry of all people. We were sat in the Common Room doing school work, but Harry kept staring out the window. "Penny for your thoughts, Harry?" I said teasingly and he shook his head to clear it, looking at me. "What's on your mind?" I asked, laying my quill down and looking at Harry curiously. "It's Malfoy." He said simply and I groaned, turning back to my homework.

"Oh god, not this again. Harry, I'm starting to think you're obsessed with Malfoy. What did you see him doing now, walking to Potions a few minutes late?" I said in exasperation. "It's not just Malfoy, Isabelle. It's Snape too." My head snapped up at the mention of my dad and I looked at Harry suspiciously. "What about Snape?" I asked and Harry looked around the Common Room to make sure no one was eavesdropping before leaning in to speak a little quieter.

"Malfoy was caught trying to sneak into Slughorn's party, and Snape personally escorted him out. Something about the way they were looking at each other didn't seem right so I snuck after them and listened." I held my breath as Harry talked, terrified of what he was going to say next - did he hear something that he really shouldn't have? "Malfoy and Snape were arguing in the corridor. Malfoy was yelling something along the lines of 'I don't need anyone to help me' or 'You don't have to watch me' or whatever. But it's what Snape said that caught me off guard. He said he made an Unbreakable Vow, that he must help Malfoy. He sounded really on edge too, like his life depended on it."

My blood ran cold at Harry's words, and my eyes widened. "Are you sure you heard him correctly?" I said, my voice almost edging desperation. Harry nodded, his eyes confused. "Yeah, absolutely sure. But why would Snape make an Unbreakable Vow? What even is an Unbreakable Vow?" He asked, and I bit my lip. 

"It's a magical agreement between two people, a binding contract. You make a vow to the other person, and it's sealed in magic by a third person. The reason it's called an Unbreakable Vow is that if you break it...you die. That's why Snape was so insistent on Malfoy listening to him and following his orders. If Snape doesn't fulfill his end of the vow, he'll die." I said, my voice ending in a whisper as the gravity of the situation set in.

I had never taken Snape seriously when he talked about how dangerous Draco was and how I had to stay away from him, but now his words in the empty classroom came back to haunt me, clear as day - "Draco is involved in something much darker than you could ever dream. Not everyone is as innocent as they appear to be, Isabelle. You would do well to learn that early in life", he had told me. Suddenly I felt like I was struggling for air in a room filled with oxygen.

"What do you think the vow was about, Isabelle? Do you remember anyone strange visiting Snape recently?" Harry asked, trying not to be a nudge but still acting like one anyway. The memories from the day where Wormtail had locked me in my room came back to me in a rush - the female voices in the drawing room, the fight with Snape after they had left. If I had been struggling for air before, now I was absolutely drowning. The world was closing in on me and I had nowhere to run.

I looked down at my bag and saw my enchanted parchment tucked into the inside pocket. I grabbed it and quickly scribbled "Meet me in the Astronomy Tower now", shoving it back into my back before Harry could see what I had written. "I don't know. But if it's truly that important to you, I can ask Snape. It probably won't give you the answers you're looking for, but I'm willing to try for you." I said, and Harry squeezed my hand.