Pariah: The Other Malfoy

Chapter 59: Secrets

Quidditch practices were... interesting. Ron's technique was erratic, Dean Thomas had replaced Katie while she was in the Hospital Wing, and almost every practice descended in an argument.

The final practice before our first match was the worst. Ron tried to quit after it, having not saved a single goal the whole practice and yelling at us the whole time, but Harry dissuaded him while chiding him for his attitude. He had even managed to smack me during his erratic plays, splitting my lip and forcing me to head to the Hospital Wing to fix it. I didn't say anything, however, I understood how frustrated he was.

Breakfast was the usual excitable affair the next morning; the Slytherins hissed and booed as members of Gryffindor Quidditch Team entered the Great Hall. The sky was a clear blue today, perfect for playing.

The Gryffindor table, a solid mass of red and gold, cheered as I approached.

"You haven't failed us yet, Malfoy!" Seamus yelled at me and I grinned.

"Not planning on ending that today, Finnegan!" I yelled back.

I had a few slices of toast then I headed to the changing room. I was ready in my Quidditch robes when everyone else came in.

Draco wasn't playing today, instead it was some idiot in Ginny's year. He was apparently sick, but none of us really believed that. I wondered what my brother was up to, but I knew I had to keep my head focused on the game. Draco could wait.

Madam Hooch got ready to release the balls from the crate.

"Mount your brooms. On the whistle... three.... two... one..."

We won the match! Ron saved every single goal, a placebo effect on his confidence from Harry pretending to put his Felix Felicis in it. I scored a number of goals, assisting with several as well! The only injury I sustained was a Bludger hit to the shoulder, but the dull ache subsided by the time the match finished.

Ron was getting the most congratulations for his fantastic game, especially from anyone who had seen him in practice, but multiple people came up to me too. We were well and truly ready to party for the remainder of the night.

Speaking of dreams, my nightmares hadn't subsided. They came in the days leading up to the full moon, I woke up in a cold sweat every night that week, but I didn't wake anyone else up anymore. Therefore, in my eyes, it didn't matter. I could deal with it, and Hermione couldn't grass me up. Being exhausted just came from being a werewolf, a few nightmares wouldn't make it much worse.

Hermione had her own problems anyway. I had noticed she seemed to be enjoying Ron's company more than usual, and she was torn apart when Lavender Brown kissed him. They were dating and, to put it lightly, she was furious, yet couldn't explain why to anyone.

I felt for her, but there was nothing I could do. Ron would come to his senses, as Lavender certainly wasn't right for him. Perhaps Hermione was.

After the excitement of the previous few weeks, life was quiet until Christmas, if you ignored all the times I saw Draco skulking about, sometimes being accosted by Snape. I never said anything, but I was curious - what were they doing? Harry and Hermione were going to Slughorn's Christmas party, an event I was glad I wasn't invited to. It seemed awful, basically a networking event, but Harry was trying to stay on Slughorn's good side, for reasons unknown.

Harry and Hermione had been invited to Slughorn's Christmas party, a few days before we were due to go home for Christmas. I was quite relieved I had avoided his little 'club', as it meant Tobias and I could chill together while the teacher's slowed down on homework for the holidays.

Ron and Lavender had been spending a lot of time together, mostly avoiding the rest of us in favour of one another's company. Hermione was livid, especially as she was supposed to be going to the Christmas party with him, and invited Cormac McLaggen instead. More fool her, she did it to spite Ron as he hated McLaggen, but Hermione didn't particularly like him either.

But Harry had a tale for us the day after the party. Draco had been caught by Filch, lurking upstairs from the party, claiming he was invited. He hadn't been, and Snape escorted him out, but Harry had been suspicious so followed them, much to Hermione's annoyance. He had listened to their conversation, only heard snippets, but one thing was clear.

Snape had made an Unbreakable Vow to protect my brother. My brother had said he was chosen by the Dark Lord for something and was determined he wouldn't fail, and Snape had offered his help. Draco refused, and Harry heard nothing more, leaving him with more questions than answers.

What was my brother doing?

I was walking towards the compartment my friends were in, the train trundling to life, worried about the inevitable that awaited me this Christmas. Would the Dark Lord still be at the Manor, or would he have moved? But while I was walking, someone stepped in front of me.

"Lyra, we need to talk," Draco was in front of me, causing me to frown, "Listen to me. You can't come home for Christmas."

"That's all I'm getting?" I asked after a few moments of silence, "No explanation? Draco, I don't get much choice. You and mother will get in trouble if I stay, I know you will. I can't just—"

"Don't come home," Draco repeated, pulling me into an empty compartment, "I don't care what they threaten you with. Go to the Weasley's or something, just don't come home."

"Draco, you have to tell me what's going on!" I cried, "You've been acting weird, I've seen you skulking around with Snape. Now this? What's going on?"

He sighed and let go of me.

"Lyra, I can't tell you," he said, "You'll find out eventually. It's in your interest to be ignorant about what I'm doing, trust me on this."

"Harry has figured something is up as well. He mentioned something about Snape making an Unbreakable Vow to help you," I said quietly, "He said you were the one who cursed Katie. Why? Who are you trying to get to?"

"Of course, Potter, always sticking his nose where it doesn't belong," Draco sneered, "Lyra, please trust me this once. Even Potter can't stop this, and he's a fool to try."

"Fine. Then tell me why I shouldn't come home for Christmas. What can be worse than what they've already done to me?" I asked.

"The Dark Lord is doing his best to get rid of any obstacles. They think..." he stopped, lowering his voice, "They think you know what I'm doing. Mother wrote to me, told me he thinks you will go to Dumbledore with it. Lyra, He's going to kill you if you come back. That's his plan. And I won't let that happen!"

I was frozen for a moment, shocked to silence.

"Do you see why I can't explain why I've been acting like this?" He asked, "I'm working on his orders, you telling anyone won't stop it, this is something I have to do but if I can save you from what will happen to me, I will try my hardest."

"Draco... be careful," I sighed, "Don't do anything stupid."

"Go ask Weasley if they have room for one more," he said, squeezing my hand.