"There is always a glimmer in those who have been through the dark"
-Atticus
...
"The homework is due Monday, you are dismissed" said the dreary voice of professor Slughorn. Though I disliked him, potions were still one of my favourite lessons as it was one of the few that were taught by regular professors and not workers of Snape.
It was my last lesson that Friday and I had just been dismissed. I would usually be glad of this if it weren't for the fact that weekends were now spent in the common room with nothing to do, only being allowed out to go to the great hall for our food. I terribly missed going to hogsmeade with my friends, but trips out of the castle had been strictly prohibited. Well, anywhere outside our classrooms, the great hall and the common rooms were prohibited. Besides, the death eaters that resided in the castles could go down to hogsmeade any time they pleased and a Hogsmeade polluted with death eaters isn't a Hogsmeade I wanted to visit.
I thanked professor Slughorn on my way out of the door. I was mere steps out of the classroom when I saw Draco stood in the hallway waiting for me. I wanted to go to him but I couldn't - I couldn't risk being under the peering eyes of Snape. I looked at him silently asking him what he wanted me to do. He jolted his head slightly indicating for me to follow him.
He turned away and began to walk down the corridor. I followed the direction he was walking in but I kept my distance enough so that it didn't look like I was following him. I had left the classroom hurriedly so the others wouldn't see me with him.
He walked down the corridors past large groups of silent people, looking back to me a few times to make sure that I was still there.
My heart dropped when I saw Snape round the corner. He had told me how I was forbidden to speak to Draco. I quickly stopped in my tracks and stood against a wall, opening the potions book in my hands and pretending to read it. I almost held my breath as he walked past me, hoping he didn't realise that I was following Draco. I could see him look at me out of the corner of my eye but to my relief he simply passed me by and didn't stop, only yelling a "get to your common rooms" addressed to the whole corridor viscously making them immediately move in the direction of their common rooms.
I watched out of the corner of my eye as he walked around the corner out of view, his figure shrouded slightly by the commotion of students. I whipped my head around and saw Draco casually looking in my direction. When he caught my attention he began to walk again. I didn't know where he was planning to take me and I had to be back at the common room for 4 before we were led to the hall to eat.
He continued walking for a few minutes, me not far behind him. He turned down a deserted corridor, one that wasn't often filled with people since it was a dead end corridor that only had a few supply closets in it. When we turned down the corridor, Draco stood in front of a large open space on the wall and faced me.
I quickly sped up and walked to him, checking behind me a few times to make sure there was no one watching us. I saw him smile lightly as I came up to him.
Just as I was about to speak to him, he turned to face the large empty wall and closed his eyes, looking as if he was trying hard to concentrate on something. I was about to ask what he was doing when I saw a brown swirling pattern start to materialise onto the wall. The swirls spread across the wall revealing the shape of a large wooden door. I looked around to make sure no one was around us and looked at the door with my mouth slightly open.
"Draco what is this?" I asked him after the door was fully formed.
"The room of requirement" he replied. I remember he had said that this is where the vanishing cabinet was that night in the astronomy tower. I wasn't sure what he meant, I felt as though I had heard the name before or read it in a book somewhere, but I never knew that it was real. "Come on"
Draco grasped my hand and pulled me slightly, opening the huge door. It opened to reveal almost every artefact I could think of. There were stacks of chairs and furniture that reached to almost the top of the enormous room. There were randomly placed wooden tables strewn everywhere, everything from glass vials, various globes and astronomy objects and even various instruments such as harps. The room was oddly silent apart from the occasional flutter of wings that I assumed to be from cornish pixies. Items littered the floor, almost every inch of the room piled up with objects, a few pathways weaving in between the piles of them that towered over us.
"It's the room with the vanishing cabinet. People can only access it if they have a real need for it" Draco said as I looked around, picking up the occasional object and observing it before placing it back down.
"And what was your need for it?" I said to him with a smile.
"Seeing you of course" he replied with a small laugh.
"Won't they come looking for you?" I asked him referring to the likes of Snape and other death eaters.
"They won't need me until after dinner" he replied to me walking up to me, me staring up at him.
"I missed you" I said to him.
"I only saw you last night" he laughed
"I mean before that. I missed speaking to you" I admitted. He smiled down at me, me returning him with one. He cupped my cheek with his cold hand.
"Me too" and he pulled me into a kiss, me throwing my arms around his neck.
...
"You should probably be getting back" I said to him. "Dinner is in 15 minutes"
"I can last another five minutes" he replied.
We had sat ourselves on a small sofa that was in the room. It was rather worn and had a few holes in it, but it was comfy and clean enough.
"If you say so" I smiled. I paused for a moment. There was something I had been desperate to ask him recently. I knee it would make him uncomfortable to ask but my curiosity was getting the better of me and I couldn't help it. "Draco I have a question"
"Yeah?" He replied to me.
"Is the other vanishing cabinet still at Borgin and Burke's?" He looked rather uncomfortable with my words just as I had expected. "Sorry. I was just wondering"
"No, no it's fine" he said. "They um, they moved it. To my house"
I looked at him - he looked as if he was silently cursing himself.
"Draco it's fine. I was just curious that's all" I said. I placed my hand on his, lacing my fingers between his and holding onto him re-assuringly. He smiled slightly towards me but I could tell he was forcing it.
"They are planning on moving it to a little shop in hogsmeade. The death eaters needed us to keep hold of it until they can move it into hogsmeade, I assume because they want to be able to get in and out of Hogwarts easily. They should be moving it sometime next month"
I raised his hand that I was holding and held it in front of me. I used my other hand to gently trace over the ring he still wore on his middle finger.
"Let's not talk about that" I said to him with a smile, him looking at me admirably.
"Agreed" he said. "One day we won't have to hide in here"
"Let's hope" I said to him.
"But for now, come here after your detentions. I'll meet you outside. Her office is near so it's less risky than the astronomy tower. I know it's not much but at least Snape won't catch us"
"I like it" I replied looking around at the assortment of items near us. I picked up a large witches hat that looked frayed and old. I jokingly placed it on top of Draco's head, it falling down to cover his eyes while laughing and saying
"I think it suits you"
"It stinks" he said back to me with a small laugh throwing the hat aside. "I'll see you at half seven then? They are going to be looking for the both of us"
"If we must" I said to him. I placed a quick kiss on his lips and we both stood up and made our way to the entrance of the room, only releasing our hands when I left the room, him waiting behind for a minute or so so that people didn't see us together.
...