Lost Along the Way

By: January Lily

Chapter 14: Secrets of the Castle

Leila awoke the next morning with a giant grin on her face. That was probably the most restful sleep she had in months. It took her a moment to realize why she was so happy...Draco. The thought seemed laughable, but Draco Malfoy was the cause of her euphoria. For a moment she tried to cover the smile on her face with her hand, but it didn't work. Instead, she started to flail in her bed: her legs kicking at her blankets and the rest of her body rolling over her bed. She was so excited that she ended up rolling off her bed and onto the floor, landing with a loud thud onto the dark hardwood floor.

Sheepishly, Leila looked around her dormitory to see if she had awaken her roommates, but the only one who seemed to notice her was Roman. He sat in the alcove with his head cocked in her direction. Leila crawled across the floor to him before she scooped him up in her arms and together they sat in the alcove. She gently pressed a kiss atop his head before he started purring. "You'll never guess what's happened," Leila whispered for only Roman to hear. "I suppose there's no harm in telling you...just don't you go telling anyone now." She paused for a moment as Roman looked up at her. Leaning so that her mouth was near his head, she cupped his ear before whispering, "Draco and I…" Leila stopped for a moment, trying to contain the smile on her face. "Well, we're…"

"Potter, what the bloody hell are you doing?" Pansy scoffed from her bed. Leila's head quickly turned toward Pansy. For a moment, Leila wondered if Pansy could have heard anything she had just spoken, but she reasoned that if Parkinson had heard anything, she probably would have attacked her by now. So, Leila just blinked slowly. "Well? Aren't you going to answer me?"

"I would, but you wouldn't like the answer," Leila retorted before stood up with Roman in her arms and marched out of her dormitory in her pyjamas. Parkinson watched her with a rather angry expression; but Leila ignored the girl. She walked down to the common room. It should be empty yet at this time in the morning. It was still quite some time before breakfast and classes would begin.

Thankfully, her assumption was right. There was no one in the common room. So Leila sat down on an armchair with Roman curled up on her lap. Leila stroked his black fur for a few minutes until the sound of footsteps drew closer. She was surprised when a determined Draco emerged from the entry to the dormitories. He was so focused on something that he didn't even see Leila and he walked right past her. Leila cleared her throat before gently calling his name, "Draco."

Draco stiffened and froze in place. Leila set Roman down on the chair before she walked over to him. When she was behind him, she placed her hand at about his elbow before sliding her hand down his arm until her hand was in his. By the point her hand touched his, she was standing before him with a coy smile on her face. "Hi," Leila said breathlessly.

"Hi," Draco said relaxing a bit; but he still looked over his shoulders to make sure that no one else was there to witness his exchange with Leila.

Leila bit her bottom lip a bit. He certainly didn't seem as excited to see her as she was to see him; but that didn't stop her from reaching for his other hand with her free hand. She looked up at him and his facial expression softened. Unable to put more coherent sentences together, she simply repeated her earlier sentiment, "Hi."

Draco raised an eyebrow and looked at her quizzically. "What's with you? You seem nervous. Since when do I make you nervous?"

"Since last night." Leila looked up at him innocently before she released the breath she had been holding. "Last night-was it all a dream?"

He smirked a bit before he lowered his face toward hers. In almost a whisper he said, "You tell me." Then he slowly pressed his lips on Leila's. She practically melted into him, tightly clinging to his hands which were holding tightly onto hers.

After several kisses, Leila pulled away, still grinning. "No. No, definitely not a dream."

"Good. Dreams are bloody annoying." Draco looked down to find Leila looking up at him with one eyebrow raised, as if she were demanding an explanation. He sighed. He couldn't...not yet. Everything was just so...new. Not to mention that he had important business to attend to. He couldn't let Leila distract him from that no matter how much he desired her. Draco quickly kissed Leila's cheek before he pulled away from her. "I have something I need to go do."

"What do you have to do? I could help you."

Those words practically cut through him. First of all, he couldn't tell her. Second of all, if she knew what she was helping him with-she'd probably kill him. So instead, he simply responded, "I'll see you at breakfast."

Leila seemed satisfied with that answer for a moment until it dawned on her, "But Draco we can't be seen together...well, not like this." Leila's bottom lip protruded a bit as she looked at him.

"Right." Draco slowly mulled things over for a moment. They technically could still interact; but only in the same manner as they had been. "I'll make it up to you. I promise." Little did Draco know that those words would become familiar to Leila many times over the course of the next several months.

Draco looked around the common room again before he chastely kissed Leila and then left the Slytherin dungeon. Leila stood there watching him walk away, not knowing how familiar that sight was about to become to her. But at that moment, she was too happy to even begin to think contrary. She could still feel the warmth from where his lips had brushed hers and pressed her fingers there for a moment. With a contented sigh, Leila turned around to find Roman watching her, which caused her to chuckle.

"Don't you dare tell anyone what you just witnessed," Leila said bending down toward Roman with a finger out in front of her like she was disciplining him. "Especially not Harry." Roman meowed and Leila chuckled before she picked him back up and headed back to her dormitory.

After breakfast, which Draco was absent from, Leila headed to Transfiguration. When she got there, she found Harry already seated at a desk waving her over. With a sigh, Leila told Daphne that she would see her after class before she went and sat beside her brother. She had a feeling that she was going to regret sitting beside him; but she had to try and act as normally as possible...and normal Leila would sit with her brother if he asked her to...unless she was mad at him...which she wasn't. It was all so bloody confusing.

Leila slouched into the desk beside her brother. "Morning, Harry," she responded as she pulled her Transfiguration assignment from her book bag.

Harry didn't respond with a good morning. Instead, he went straight for what he had wanted to talk with her about. "I saw you with him again," Harry said as he took the Marauder's Map from his back pocket and then tapped it against the table.

Her heart stopped for a moment. She had to tell herself to play things cool. That the last thing on earth she wanted was for Harry to find out the real reason. So, Leila rolled her eyes, trying to act more annoyed than guilty. "Are you serious? This again? We had patrol last night."

"That's what Ron said," Harry mused for a moment before coming back to reality. "It saw you two together. You were in the corridor for an awfully long time...you were rather close to each other. What were you doing?"

She had to think quick. Not fully trusting herself to tell a decent lie, she turned it around on Harry. "What do you think we were doing?"

Harry's brow furrowed for a moment before he answered, "Arguing? He didn't seem to happy about the detention McGonagall gave the two of you."

"They really should name you "The Dim-Witted One". It took you long enough to figure that one out," Leila scoffed. Arguing could make sense...despite it not being the truth; but there was no way in hell that she was going to tell Harry that she had actually been snogging Draco. But it also meant that she was going to have to continue to act more antagonistic toward Draco in public if they were to continue the ruse...especially if Harry had the map. "It's what Malfoy and I do...we argue."

"I just don't like seeing you two alone together."

"Well, you're going to have to trust me. I can't help that I have patrol and detention with him; but you also have to remember that you asked me to keep an eye on him."

"Not so closely."

"Believe it or not, Harry, it's less suspicious this way. Your way just adds paranoia. My way keeps me close to him in order to hear or see anything." While it was the truth. It was a lie. She wasn't getting close to Draco for Harry...she was getting close to Draco for herself. Leila pinched the bridge of her nose and then sighed, "You really need to just trust me...and this is the last time we're having this conversation. If I have something to tell you about Dra-Malfoy, I'll tell you." Lie. Lie. Lie. Not to mention that she had almost slipped up and called him Draco. Merlin, this certainly wasn't going to be as easy as she had anticipated that it would.

Harry sighed, "Alright."

"What?" Leila's eyes widened and her head whipped toward her brother at his admission.

"You're right. I should trust you-I mean do trust you. I just don't trust him. I only want to make sure he's not hurting you...especially when there's no one else around. It worries me, which is why I keep an eye on you."

"Oh...that's sweet of you...really creepy; but sweet. I promise I can hold my own with him." Leila gave her a gentle smile. Despite how terribly Harry was going about the situation, he did have good intentions toward her. Leila patted her brother's hand before saying, "Now, if you ever see me alone with Parkinson, then you have my permission to swoop in and save me. I suppose the same would apply for Granger...or Snape...or Peeves…"

"Now shut it. I don't need you getting me in trouble with Professor McGonagall too."

"What? You don't want to join Malfoy and me in detention?"

"Been there. Done that. Not something I'm fond of experiencing again. Besides, I already have detention with Snape tonight."

"How disappointing. Snape gave me the night off...to serve my detention with McGonagall."

"He probably just wanted a night off from you. Merlin knows he could probably use one." Harry smirked at his own joke. Leila took the Marauder's Map, which was still in Harry's hands, and whacked him with it. She managed to whack him several more times before he pulled it from her grasp. Neither of them knew that class had begun and that they were now the center of attention.

"And what exactly do we have going on here?" Professor McGonagall asked sternly, suddenly appearing beside them.

Leila winched, unable to look at her teacher. "Not again," she groaned. "I was joking when I said I was going for Dad's record." But much to Leila's surprise, Harry actually took the blame for the situation.

"That would be my fault, Professor," Harry said rather calmly, setting his hand on his sister's shoulder. "I wasn't paying attention and I asked Leila; but she was trying to tell me not to distract her from paying attention...like I should be."

"Is that what happened, Miss Potter?" Professor McGonagall questioned. Leila simply looked to her brother before looking back to her professor. She nodded her head slowly and Professor McGonagall sighed. "While I'm not sure I agree with Miss Potter's rather...violent methods, she is right, Mr Potter. I expect you to see an extra two inches on your essay for Monday because of your oversight, Mr Potter."

"Yes, ma'am."

As Professor McGonagall turned her back on the Potter twins to walk back to the front of the room, Leila leaned close to her brother. "What'd you do that for?" she whispered.

"You're my sister. I got you into trouble, so I should be the one to get you out."

Leila wanted to argue with him on that matter, but Professor McGonagall had turned around again. Instead, she opted for an eye roll before picking up her quill to take more notes. When class was over, Leila looked over her shoulder to see Draco still sitting in his seat a few rows behind her. He was watching her carefully. Leila tried to hide her smile from his attention as she pulled a strand of hair behind her ear and packed her book bag. She turned toward him again, but he wasn't there any longer. He must have left; but that was no matter. It wasn't like she could exactly hold hands with him walking to class or anything...despite how terribly she wanted to. Harry, who was still seated beside her, grumbling about the essay was one of the biggest reasons why.

After Transfiguration on Fridays, Leila had History of Magic. Professor Binns droned on as usual. The only good thing about the class was that she was seated across the room from Draco, looking right at him. Every now and then they would exchange glances expressing their boredom in the class; but Pansy Parkinson would often interrupt them without even knowing she was doing it. In the pit of her stomach, Leila knew she was jealous of Pany begging publicly for Draco's attention; but there wasn't much she could do about it. Although, it did make her feel a tiny bit better when she would make eye contact with Draco and he would nod his head toward Parkinson and then roll his eyes. That made her smile.

"What are you smiling at?" Daphne whispered to her.

"I-uh-you know that watching Parkinson make an utter fool of herself is one of my guilty pleasures," Leila responded in a lie as she could practically feel a blush crawling up her neck. She then nodded across the room to where Pansy sat staring at Draco...and he was obviously ignoring her.

Daphne shook her head. "I'm pretty sure you don't feel bad about enjoying it though-so it's not really a guilty pleasure."

"Oh shut it." Leila then rolled her eyes which caused Daphne to chuckle.

Professor Binns also assigned them an essay for Tuesday. Leila was pretty sure that death was homework was a fairly viable option this year. She had her work cut out for her this weekend and it certainly wasn't going to leave her much time to spend with Draco, something she already craved. She found it almost humorous that she had never realized how much she actually enjoyed the attention he devoted to her...and now she could finally have it...if she got her homework done.

That afternoon Leila walked into the Charms classroom with Daphne. The girls walked to the typical Slytherin side of the room and climbed the small set of stairs to the second tier of of desks which were slightly elevated. Thankfully, it was the last class of the week and then it was the weekend, not that the sixth years would be enjoying much of the weekend. The girls sat down and Leila looked across the room to the entrance just as Draco swaggered through it. His eyes locked with hers for a moment and Leila attempted to hide her smile by biting her lip; but it was damn near impossible to hide the blush that was creeping up her cheeks. With her face aflame, Draco must have realized that he had caused the reaction because he looked away from her with a smirk on his face. Leila tried to shield her face inside her Charms textbook hoping that no one noticed her blushing.

Leila pressed the cool pages of the book to her face to calm the flaming feeling rushing through her cheeks as she took several slow breaths. After a few moments, she was finally able to put down her textbook and thankfully it looked like no one was none the wiser, although she was quite surprised to see Draco seated directly in front of her between Zabini and Goyle. Leila leaned forward a bit and breathed in, inhaling Draco's scent...a scent that she now recognized belonged to the same scent in her whiff of Amortentia. It almost seemed comical how things were making more and more sense and yet at the same time making less sense. She couldn't exactly explain it. Looking across the room, Leila noticed her brother seated in the usual Gryffindor section of the room between Granger and Ron. Granger was babbling on about something, Ron, as usual, wasn't paying attention; but Harry was looking straight across the room...at her.

Had he noticed her acting strange around Draco? She hadn't done anything too out of the ordinary; but then again, she couldn't remember exactly how long Harry had been in the classroom. And if it wasn't enough for Leila's brain to be spinning from that it only became more jumbled when Draco turned around and hissed, "Potter."

For a moment, Leila froze. Was Draco talking to her? Hadn't they agreed that they were going to keep things a secret...that no one could know of their relationship. But after a brief pause, Draco continued to speak, "Tell Scarhead that it's rude to stare."

Draco raised his eyebrows toward her...and then everything made sense. He was trying to keep up appearances and all she had to do was play along. Leila sat up a little taller and cocked an eyebrow at Draco. "Excuse me?" Leila scoffed.

"You heard me."

"Actually, I tend not to listen when you speak...especially to me."

Draco's face seemed almost amused by her quick retort; but he kept his sneer on his face. "Well, you better listen this time or…"

"Or what?"

"Will you two knock it off?" Daphne groaned. "This," she said pointing between Draco and Leila. "Is getting rather annoying. So why don't both of you shut it."

"I will if he will."

"As if I'm the problem."

"At least you finally admit it."

"Merlin's beard," Daphne grumbled as she knocked her head gently against the wood of the desk.

Both Draco and Leila attempted to hide the smiles that threatened to expose them. If they could convince a close friend, then they more than certainly could convince everyone else. Making sure that no one was watching, Draco gave Leila a slight nod before he swiveled back around so that he was facing the front as class began. Professor Flitwick climbed his podium of books and then began class. By the end of class, even Flitwick couldn't resist from assigning them a small mountain of homework. It was as if the teachers were trying to kill them...with homework.

When class finally concluded, Draco turned back toward her once more and raised his eyebrows at her for a moment. Leila looked at him curiously and all he did was smirk before he pushed past Goyle to escape the tiered desks of the Charms room. After counting to ten in her head, Leila looked around the room to make sure that no one was watching her. Daphne was engrossed in a conversation with Theo, the Carrow twins had already left, and the Gryffindors were just exiting the room. Leila took this as her cue to leave. Just as she exited, she could have sworn that she saw Draco leaning against the wall; but when they made eye contact he quickly rounded the corner.

With determination, Leila took off after him. When she rounded the corner, she saw him round another corner. She attempted to follow him for a few corridors when she lost sight of him altogether. Leila sighed in disappointment in the empty corridor. Maybe he hadn't meant for her to follow him. Maybe she had completely misread things. It wouldn't be the first time she misread things as far as Draco was concerned. She took one last sweeping glance around the corridor and didn't spot him. So, she turned on her heel to head back to the Slytherin common room. She was no more than a few yards away from the place where she had stopped when she heard a voice from behind, "You give up too easily."

Leila turned around to see Draco leaning against the wall a few feet behind her. He didn't look angry, but once again he seemed amused by her actions. She shook her head and walked toward him with a half-smile on her face. When she reached him, she bashfully looked up at him as she pulled her hair behind her ear and whispered, "I-I thought…"

Not allowing her to finish, Draco wrapped his hands around her upper arms before he turned her so that she was now pressed against the wall. Leila's heart began to race faster as she watched him look over his shoulders to see if anyone was watching before he pressed his lips on hers. She couldn't help but respond to his kiss. Despite the fact that her whole word seemed to be swimming before her with every bloody kiss, she didn't want it to end. For reasons unknown to her, everything seemed right about this...yet entirely wrong.

Slowly, Leila's hands reached upward so that she could brace herself as he kissed her. Her hands wrapped around Draco's forearms. Draco gasped from this touch and quickly broke the kiss. He eyed her suspiciously with a slightly cold and calculated look on his face. Leila looked up at him innocently. Draco's icy eyes looked into her emerald ones searching for answers. Leila couldn't be exactly sure what he was looking for; but he must have found what he was looking for because he wrapped his hands around hers before he pulled her arms around his neck and went in for another kiss….and a few more after that.

At dinner that evening, Leila was surprised to see that Draco was actually attending the meal. He purposely sat across from Leila at the table; but was careful not to watch her...too much Although, that didn't stop his foot from reaching under the table and playing with hers. After a few moments, his foot rested on top of hers. Trying to remain in conversation with Theo, Leila tried to pull her foot out from under his and place it on his; but his foot quickly escaped her hold and pinned hers down once again. "Damnit!" Leila growled aloud, much louder than she had anticipated. Theo looked at her oddly and even Draco was watching her out of the corner of her eye as he slowly removed his foot. "I-I just realized that I forgot to get something from my brother," Leila muttered the lie before she stomped her foot down on Draco's. His face contorted a bit, which made Leila smirk before she and Theo continued to talk of Quidditch.

Dessert was Leila's favorite treat, pumpkin pasties. She practically inhaled the first pasty and while she started on her second pasty, owls swooped into the Great Hall to deliver The Evening Prophet. Most of the students didn't immediately read it, but in a matter of minutes whispers of Draco's name echoed through the Great Hall. Leila looked over at Draco, who looked thoroughly confused. He snatched the paper Theo had been reading, quickly turning the pages until he suddenly came to a stop. Leila watched as Draco's face turned pale for a moment and then quickly contorted in anger. Draco then looked up to see that most of the Hogwarts' student body was watching him. Uncomfortable from the attention, Draco slammed the paper down onto the table and quickly walked out of the Great Hall.

Noticing how upset Draco was, Leila picked up the paper. She shuffled through the pages until she came to an article on one of the inside pages. Her heart sunk a bit from just looking at the heading, but she continued to read. "This second search of the Death Eater's residence does not seem to have yielded any results. Arthur Weasley of the Office for the Detection and Confiscation of Counterfeit Defensive Spells and Protective Objects said that his team had been acting upon a confidential tip-off."

It was no wonder that Draco was so upset. She was so torn. Leila toyed with the idea of chasing after him, but Harry's eyes were glued to her. She knew that Harry had been the one to tip-off Arthur Weasley. He had it written over his face. Leila groaned. She didn't want any suspicious drawn to her, but part of her wanted to make sure that Draco was alright. It was an odd sort of feeling. Never before had she cared when he was upset. In fact, she had used to revel in it. But somehow everything had changed.

After dinner, Leila scanned the corridors for Draco as she walked to choir; but she didn't have any luck finding him. Thoughts of him distracted her as she was supposed to be singing. To think she had thought that she would be less distracted once she and Draco had figured a few things out...if anything, she was almost more distracted by him. When choir ended, Leila headed to Professor McGonagall's room for detention, but was surprised to find that Draco hadn't shown. They waited there for ten minutes with Professor McGonagall slowly drumming her fingers against her desk. It was clear she was annoyed that Draco hadn't bothered to show up. The only good thing about an annoyed McGonagall was that she released Leila from her detention early and she didn't make mention of having to "make-up" the detention, which pleased Leila.

Determined to find Draco, Leila began to wander the corridors after McGonagall excused her. She was so focused on finding him that she completely forgot to avoid a certain part of the castle...a certain part where a certain dinner was being held by a certain professor which a certain Potter had declined an invitation due to her detention. Needless to say, Leila was quite startled to stumble across Professor Slughorn standing in the corridor. "Why Miss Potter, I thought you had detention this evening," the professor questioned as he slowly waddled toward her.

"I-erm-got out early," Leila said immediately regretting telling him the truth.

"Well, by all means, join us inside Leila."

"I-I couldn't possibly attend...especially since I already declined the invitation."

"No matter, come on in. Come on in. At least one of the Potter twins is able to join. I must confess I was disappointed that you both managed to get detention tonight; but I'm delighted that you're able to attend. What a stroke of luck!"

"I-I'm not dressed for a party, sir." At this point, Leila was trying any excuse she could to get out of attending the stupid party; but Slughorn wouldn't budge.

"You look lovely, Miss Potter-so very much like your mother." Professor Slughorn placed a hand on Leila's back and guided her inside, much to her dismay.

Once inside, Leila found the other members of the Slug Club dispersed around the room talking amongst themselves. She found Cormac McLaggen chatting with Marcus Belby. Flora and Hestia Carrow engaged in conversation with Blaise Zabini. Ginny and Hermione Granger were seated on a sofa talking while Melinda Bobbin sat on a chair not talking with anyone. None of the conversations looked very appealing to her. She had figured she should go chat with her Housemates when Ginny waved her over. Leila looked to Granger with a slight look of disgust but she caught Ginny's disappointed expression, so she walked over to them.

"Hey, Leila," Ginny said with a smile. "Why don't you have a seat." Ginny patted the sofa to her right. Rather reluctantly, Leila sat down on the sofa. Mostly because Granger was there, but partly because she could see Blaise Zabini carefully watching her.

"Aren't you supposed to be in detention?" Granger questioned which caused Leila to roll her eyes. "That's what Harry said."

"If you must know Granger, McGonagall let me go early since Dr-Malfoy didn't show," Leila retorted. Granger looked at her oddly for a moment, but Leila shifted her position on the sofa and ignored the look. "Although judging from the looks of things, I'd rather be in detention."

"You're terrible," Ginny laughed.

"No, I'm Leila." Leila chuckled to herself as Ginny groaned at the terrible joke.

Slughorn then announced that it was time for the group to join him at the table for some tea. Leila followed behind Ginny and Granger to the rather large and circular table. She seated herself to Ginny's left and Blaise Zabini sat down at Leila's left, much to the Potter girl's dismay. Not wanting to bother with formalities, Leila slightly turned her back on him so that she was facing Ginny.

With a flick of his wand, Professor Slughorn raised the tea kettle and levitated it around the room, pouring tea into each of their cups. Once Leila's cup was filled, she wrapped her hands around the cup for some warmth, but removed them after a few seconds. She reached for some sugar and poured a couple spoonfuls of sugar into her warm liquid before she brought it to her mouth for a taste. It still wasn't sweet enough, so she added another spoonful. Ginny looked over at her with a raised eyebrow expression and questioned, "Would you like some tea with your sugar?"

"No, but some milk would be lovely, thanks," Leila retorted. Ginny shook her head before she asked Hermione to pass the milk, which the Weasley girl then passed to Leila. Leila poured some milk into her cup before she took another sip. She sighed, it was just right.

"How's Quidditch going?" Ginny asked as she took a sip of her tea which was sugarless and milkless.

"It's….going. You know how it is breaking in the fresh meat." Leila purposely said the last bit a little louder, looking over her shoulder at Zabini who slightly turned to look at her.

"Talking about me, are you?" Blaise questioned.

"Never," Leila said propping her elbow on the table and her head in her hand before giving him an eyebrow raise. "I would never do such a thing."

"Just don't go giving Weasley any of our plays."

"Oh please, I've known all our bloody plays since second year and I haven't spilled them yet. You on the other hand…" Zabini rolled his eyes and shook his head before returning his attention to his tea. Leila chuckled to herself before picking up her tea again and having a sip. When Leila looked to her right, she found Ginny looking at her curiously. So in a puzzled tone, Leila asked, "What?"

"You and Zabini?" Ginny whispered leaning close to Leila's ear.

"What about us?"

"Are you two...you know."

Leila's eyes widened before she gasped, "Oh god no!" She looked over her shoulder once again with an expression of being ready to vomit before turning back to Ginny with a shudder. "No. It's not like that. I-I'm…" Leila had to stop herself. She was going to tell Ginny that she was already seeing somebody, but that would only bring about more questions. Leila bit her bottom lip before continuing. "I'm too busy to be dating anyone anyway. You know what with homework, choir, Quidditch, prefect duties, and more homework...too much to even think about any of that. No, I'll have to be content with watching from afar this year."

"You say that now, but when I inevitably catch you snogging someone I'll be sure to remind you of this conversation."

Ginny stared at her for a moment with a raised eyebrow before smiling and picking up her tea. Leila knew that Ginny was teasing her, but she wished she could tell her friend what was going on. But even if she could tell Ginny, now would be a terrible time with Granger and Zabini in close proximity. Leila slowly released the breath she had been holding before rejoining the conversation.

Slughorn was sure to address Leila, only it was mostly about how sad he was Harry couldn't be with them. The way he spoke of Harry, it seemed like she was one third of the Potter twins and Harry was two thirds. She was part of what he wanted, but not the most important part of it. She had a sinking feeling that if she hadn't been attached to Harry, Slughorn probably wouldn't be chasing after her. But then the professor would go and say something comparing her to her mother which made her feel somewhat wanted. Either way, she wasn't quite sure how to read Slughorn and whether he was someone she wanted to associate herself with. But Dumbledore had requested that they get to know him...yet Leila wasn't allowed to know why. It seemed like Dumbledore was allowing her to know nothing. It wasn't like she exactly trusted the man blindly as her brother did; but a sign of good faith now and then wouldn't hurt. Sometimes, it seemed like the only person Leila could trust was herself.

When Professor Slughorn finally excused them for the evening, Leila walked back to the Slytherin dungeon with Blaise, Flora, and Hestia. Once back in the common room, Leila found Theo sitting in an arm chair playing Wizard's Chess against Graham Pritchard. Daphne was not in the common room, so Leila walked over to Theo's armchair and sat down on the arm of it, leaning her elbow on Theo's shoulder. She examined the board. It looked like Theo was winning, but not by much. "You know, if you…" Leila started pointing her finger at the pieces.

"Shut it, Potter," Graham interrupted. "He doesn't need your help."

"I was going to help you."

"Then by all means go on."

"No, I think I'll shut it." Leila gave Graham a fake smile which made Theo chuckle. Graham muttered something under his breath as Theo ordered one of his pieces to move. Leila scanned the common room, but once again failed to see Draco anywhere. She couldn't exactly go to his dormitory to see if he was there nor could she look at the bloody Marauder's Map because Harry had it. No, she was going to have to do this the old fashioned way. Leila took a breath trying to steady her breathing, not wanting to give herself away. "Has Malfoy come back?" Leila asked calmly.

"No. Why?" Theo asked looking to Leila curiously. Even Graham from across the board looked at Leila.

Leila rolled her eyes and put on her annoyed act. "He skipped detention...again. And I was hoping that McGonagall got to him. Maybe transfigured him into a ferret again."

"McGonagall wouldn't do that," Graham responded as he managed to decimate one of Theo's pieces. "It's against the rules and McGonagall is a stickler for the rules."

"No, but one can hope, can't they?" Leila smiled for a second before jumping off the arm of the chair before pulling her wand out of her robe pocket. She looked at her wand with a smirk before she looked back over to Theo. "I-I'll be back."

Theo looked at Leila curiously. "Where are you going?"

"Well, if McGonagall isn't going to turn him into a ferret again, then I will. Just have to find him first." Leila flipped her hair before she headed for the door. Theo and Graham watched as Leila walked up the stairs and disappeared through the door to the corridor.

Graham looked to Theo with a slightly worried expression. "You don't think she's actually gonna do it, do you?" Graham asked. "Turn Malfoy into a ferret?"

"Well, she did rather enjoy it last time he turned into one," Theo chuckled before continuing. "Let's just say for his sake I hope Malfoy is better at hiding than Leila is at Transfiguration." Theo smirked as one of his pieces moved. "Checkmate."

Once in the corridors, Leila hadn't a clue where to possibly find Draco. The only thing she was sure of was that he wasn't in the Slytherin dungeon. So, she began to wander the corridors, being sure to check any place that could possibly have significance for Draco. After nearly a half hour of searching, she found him up in the Astronomy Tower scanning the Hogwarts landscape. "Draco?" Leila gently called.

Draco looked over his shoulder at Leila for a moment, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he just turned around once again. Leila slowly approached him until she was standing beside him, leaning against the railing. He still didn't say anything. So, she reached her hand over and rested it on top of his. He turned to look at her, but still, he didn't utter a word.

Leila slowly began to rub circles on the back of his hand with her thumb. Honestly, she wasn't quite sure what she was doing. While she wanted to be there for him, she wasn't exactly sure what to say or do. She certainly didn't want to throw Harry under the proverbial bus; but Leila had her suspicions that Draco knew it was Harry. With a sigh, she rested her head on Draco's shoulder. "We can talk about whatever's bothering you, you know," Leila whispered to him.

"I don't want to talk about it," Draco said rather coldly.

Picking her head from his shoulder, Leila leaned her head so that she could see his face. It seemed so void of emotions. Leila bit her lip as she brushed her hand against his cheek. "Then what do you want Draco?"

Draco's face turned to look at hers. For a moment, Leila thought he was going to open up to her; but instead, his actions surprised her. His hands flew to her cheeks before he roughly kissed her. Walking her backward as he kissed her, Draco leaned her up against one of the pillars. While it wasn't exactly what she expected, Leila could handle this. Kissing Draco Malfoy wasn't entirely terrible.

Author's note: We get some Draco/Leila fluff this chapter. I really do love them...but they're gonna have some issues. Thanks to everyone who has read/reviewed/followed/favorited. It means the world to me. :)

NCISWINCHESTERPOTTER: I loved the Jily flashback too! There were no flashbacks this chapter, but I'm ok with that. Haha. Yes, they are together and they're definitely in a sort of "honeymoon period" with each other.

Wayward Jules: Meh, I'll live. Haha. I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter. Yes, Draco and Leila are so cute together. I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

You'veGotMail24: It was. They have things figured out...for now. Harry's keeping LEila out of things because Dumbledore asked him to. There weren't any flashbacks this chapter, but I'm glad you like them.

Understanding the Inevitable: Yay! I'm feeling ok now, so thanks! Hope the update was worth it.

TheeAbominableSnowman: I'm so flattered that you're enjoying it! Yeah, she is. I mean, she always was...I just wasn't very good at communicating that last time. Lol.

Slow Dancing in the Snow: I'm glad you liked it. Thanks for the compliments. :) Your questions will be answered...eventually. Haha.

ICanHearItCallingMe: D'awww thanks for reviewing! I'm flattered you like it!

Skip4Now: D'awww thanks!

S0ME0NELIKEYOU: Yay! I'm glad you liked it!

Mashed Potato Angels: D'awww, I'm flattered. I am. I am. But I mean, I think we all know how it's going to end. Lol. Well, you got a little look at how they are at keeping things secret...and someone isn't very good at it. Haha.

Guest (1): Thanks!

AriaHowell: Haha! Yeah! I was surprised by that one, but I just had to write that Jily flashback! Yeah, she has kissed way more...but in her defense, most of them were because she was trying to feel something after Cedric died. I hope this one was ok. :)

SlytherinWinchester: Holy cow! Your reviews always make me happy! :) They're always so long and detailed which I love. So thanks for that!

Nixdragon: Yeah yeah you like Dreila over Freila. Sorry things are worse. Haha.

xXMizz Alec VolturiXx: I'm flattered that you're enjoying the new stuff. :)

WaitingForTheLights: Yeah, I agree it took them forever. And if I would have written all the other books, it really would have taken forever. You're on to something about the honeymoon phase lol

DragonfireOfHope: Yeah, kinda off book here for a bit.

That Was Spooky: I'm glad you're liking my HP story. :) I hope you enjoy my SPN one when you get to it.

Across the Landz: Yay! They are adorable! Yes, parallel away!

DoYouSeeWhatIMean: Thanks for all the reviews!

ColdAndBrokenHallelujah: More fluff! Haha.

NeverLetMeGoPlease: I'm flattered that you like my writing. :) D'awww favorite author? Lol.

GraceFaithHopeLove: Yes, yes they are. They're getting there! Haha.

Maddie Rose: Haha-don't worry about it! I'm glad you're enjoying Draco/Leila. Oh, someone will find out. It's just a matter of who. Lol.

HardRockPrincess: Your review literally made my day when I got it. :) I'm glad you think that I'm doing my story some justice. That's what I was going for and I was nervous about it. I love all your insights! Especially given the fact that you've read the original!

Hidden Journey: I don't remember what you're hurting me for...haha. But I'm glad you like it!

Marshmallow Attack: Yay! Thanks!

Dropping Off Secrets: Yay! Thanks

Hyun2yong: I messaged you about this, but it's been a year since I first published...not updated. I actually updated like a month ago...and now. But I'm glad you like my story.