Walk Through Hell

And I think she's pretty, but pretty's just part of the things she does that amaze me; and she calls me sweetheart; I love it when she wakes me when it's still dark; and she watches the sun, but she's the only one I have my eyes on…

Harry sat alone at the desk in Sirius’ bedroom. The newly risen sun was casting a warm, bright glow across the old, dark room, making it seem almost inviting. He yawned, running his hands through his messy dark hair; it was too early for him to be awake, yet he couldn’t help it, all summer long he hadn’t gone to bed until well after one, and hadn’t slept in past seven.

Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that every time he slept, he dreamed of Sirius’ death. Yeah, that must have been it.

He had taken to sleeping in Sirius’ room, using the excuse that Ron’s snoring had gotten progressively worse over the years, so no one would know how little he had been sleeping as of late.

The door opened slightly, and Addie poked her head in, “Harry?”

Harry swiveled the desk chair around, “Hey,” he said, smiling at his friend. She stepped fully into the room. She was wearing a pair of red plaid pajama shorts and a white tank top; her dark brown hair was up in a messy bun, a few stray pieces fell from it, framing her face. Harry blushed slightly at her attire, trying quite unsuccessfully, not to stare. After all, he was a teenage boy…

Quickly, he shook those kind of thoughts from his head.

“Up early again, huh?” she said, walking over to him and sitting herself on the bed across from where he was seated in the chair.

Clearing his throat, Harry replied, “What? Oh, it’s nothing…”

“I know you’ve been getting up this early, Harry,” she replied, “I’ve only been here four days and I know that.”

Harry stared at her, “How did you know that?”

Addie shrugged, “I just knew somehow… must be that best friends since birth connection, you know, minus the ten years you were with those muggles…”

“Yeah,” Harry laughed, “but you’re up, too, I might add.”

“Well,” Addie said, smiling weakly, pulling a package out from behind her back, and handing it to him, “That’s why I’m here. Tomorrow is your birthday, and I’m leaving today, remember?”

Harry wasn’t sure how she had managed to hide the present behind her thin frame when she walked in, not that it was a big package, but she didn’t have much on her to hid it behind, “Right, you’re going with them.”

Addie cringed a bit at his accusatory tone, like she really wanted to leave her best friend the day before his birthday, but there was not much she could do about it. Shortly after Claire’s talk with Dumbledore four days ago, she took off again, on yet another mission.

And that meant that Mitch was in charge of her. Truthfully, Addie was surprised that he had allowed her to remain at Grimmauld for so long, but of course, he couldn’t be nice enough to let her stay one extra day for Harry’s birthday. No, that would just be too much.

“I’m sorry, Harry. Apparently the Malfoys and my father are anxiously awaiting my arrival to the villa in Morocco. You know, so the family bonding can get started,” Addie laughed to herself for a moment, as a vision of her father and Lucius lounging in swimming trunks on a beach with her and Draco entered her mind. The sight was ridiculous; she had never seen her father in a short-sleeved shirt, let alone a swimming suit…

Harry scoffed, “I could have taken you to Morocco, if that’s where you wanted to spend the rest of your summer.”

“Now, you are just being obnoxious,” Addie said to her friend, “now my portkey leaves in an hour and I still have to get ready, so can you please open your gift?”

His eyes shifted down to the gift in his hands and he tore back the paper quickly. Inside, he found some familiar faces looking up at him, “It’s not much, really, but I saw the way your eyes lit up when you saw this at my party, and I thought you might like a copy,” Addie said shyly, she hated giving people gifts. It always felt awkward, “But the frame is genuine, handcrafted, goblin-made silver and the glass is reinforced, so it doesn’t get broken in travel to and from school…” Addie babbled on, hoping that Harry didn’t think she had skimped on his present.

He smiled at the faces of James and Sirius, holding the infant versions of he and Addie. They truly had been best friends since birth. Gently, he grabbed Addie’s tiny wrist, she was still babbling on about how horrible she thought the gift was, and had started taking it away from him, insisting that she would bring him something much better from Morocco, “I love it, Addie.”

She stopped, “You don’t have to say that.”

“But I really do. This means much more to me than anything anyone else could get me. It’s hard to find pictures of my family, you know?”

“Well I’m glad you like it.”

“I love it.”

Addie smiled, “Well good,” she stood, “I really must be getting ready now. If I show up there looking like this, I may be cursed on the spot.”

Harry nodded, and she quickly left the room, leaving Harry to look at the small snapshot of his past.

--

“Be sure to send us owls as often as you can,” Hermione said, giving Addie a hug.

Ron added, “Yeah, make sure you tell us if those Malfoys are mistreating you.”

Addie laughed, “I’ll try,” she didn’t want to tell them, but she honestly wasn’t sure when she would be able to send them anything. Her father never made it easy for her to contact her fellow Gryffindors when he was in charge. In the past, he had been known to intercept her owl whenever it came bearing a letter to her.

“Are you sure you have to go?” Harry asked.

“Yes,” Addie said, pulling him into a hug, “Happy birthday. And er…tell my mum that I love her, whenever she gets back.”

At the mention of Claire, Harry remembered the letters he had found in Sirius’ bedroom. They were still tucked away in his pocket and had been completely forgotten about since Harry discovered them four days ago. With Claire’s sudden departure, he had been unable to get her and Lupin together to question it, “I will,” he replied quietly.

Suddenly, the candle on the kitchen table began to glow with a blue light, and Addie grabbed it quickly, “I’ll see you on the train,” she said, with one final look at her three friends. Then she was pulled forward into the candle, and in the next second, she was gone.

After a moment, Ron yawned, stretching his hands above his head and made his way out of the kitchen and back up towards his bedroom, where he would sleep again until a more decent hour.

“She’ll be fine,” Hermione said, putting a hand on Harry’s shoulder. She knew how much he hated when Addie was forced to spend time with the Malfoys, away from him, where he couldn’t protect her from their cruelties, “I actually think Draco quite fancies her, from what she tells me…”

“Please, if it came down to protecting himself or Addie, you and I both know that he’d pick himself. The selfish git.”

“He’s much different than what we see at Hogwarts,” Hermione reasoned.

Harry rolled his eyes, “She just doesn’t want to see how evil he truly is.”

Hermione didn’t reply. Though Draco wasn’t her favorite person, she trusted Addie’s judgment with him. She knew her friend, and Addie was not one to deliberately look for the good in someone; if Addie said that Draco truly was a good person, she believed her, whether Harry wanted to or not.

“Listen, Hermione, I found something the other day,” Harry said, pulling the two letters from his pocket, “I was hoping you could make some kind of sense of it.”

He watched as Hermione read each letter, a wrinkle forming between her eyebrows, one that meant she was thinking really hard. Finally, after thoroughly reading each letter several times, she spoke, “Well it does appear that there is some kind of secret being kept from Addie.”

“I’m going to ask Claire and Lupin about it when Claire gets back.”

Hermione shook her head, “No, Harry. Don’t stick your nose into a place where it doesn’t belong.”

In shock, Harry stared at her, she was one to talk about getting into someone else’s business, “Hermione, they’re lying to her.”

“Harry, it might be for the best. Maybe this is something that can really hurt her.”

“But…”

“Stop it. This is between Claire and Addie. If it is something important, then Claire will tell her when she is ready. Until then, let it be.”

“Hermione…”

“Let it be, Harry,” Hermione snapped, “Just let it be.”

--

Just as everything else the Malfoys did, the villa they rented in Morocco was elaborate. It had a sprawling, open floor plan and was built so that the large, outdoor garden, furnished with palm trees and all, was in the center of all sides of the house. Throughout the house, the wall which faced the garden was made completely of glass, so no matter where one was, they always had a view of the tranquil garden.

A walk down a palm tree lined path lead to a large pool, surrounded with sand instead of concrete, to give it a beach-y feel. Of course, if one preferred the beach, all they would have to do was walk about a quarter of a mile father down the palm tree path, which lead right to the turquoise ocean.

Addie spent a good hour exploring the villa and its grounds before she ever came in contact with a member of the Malfoy family. The place was so large that Addie bet, if she wanted, she could go her entire month long stay without ever seeing any of them. Actually, if it weren’t for the fact that she recognized the house elves that helped her with her things when she first arrived, Addie would have thought she was in the wrong place.

After a pleasant walk down on the beach, Addie walked back up to the house and entered the kitchen through the sliding glass door, where she met the thin, blonde haired figure of Narcissa Malfoy. Narcissa had obviously been off in the city shopping, for she had just heaved a piled of bags onto the floor, which the house elves began tending to immediately.

Narcissa jumped when Addie cleared her throat from the doorway, making her presence known.

“Oh, Adrienne. You gave me a fright,” she said, breathing a sigh of relief, “You must forgive me for not being her when you arrived. It was getting much too lonely here, what with Lucius and Draco gone…”

“Draco isn’t here?” Addie asked, slightly alarmed.

Narcissa shook her head, “But don’t worry, they should be back in a few hours, and your father will be back tomorrow, he had some business…” she said, then quickly changed the subject, “Did the house elves show you to your room?”

“They took my things up there, but I haven’t seen it yet; I’ve been looking around.”

“Well go have a look,” Narcissa said, as she began to leave the room, “and Addie,” she added, turning around to look at her, “I have to say, I begged them not to bring you here.”

Addie looked at her a moment, a bit taken aback, “Oh, I’m sorry. I always thought you liked me just fine…”

“No, that isn’t it,” she said gravely, “Look, whatever happened between you and Draco on your birthday…I really shouldn’t say anything…but you should be very weary of who you share that information with. They are…very interested in what happened…I shouldn’t say more, but just keep that information close…”

Addie couldn’t get her mouth to form the words that she wanted to speak. It was very odd, Narcissa giving her a warning; usually she never spoke anything against her husband. If he were to hear that she had given Addie a warning, it would not go over well with him, that much was sure.

“I will…keep that in mind,” Addie finally said.

And with that, Narcissa seemed pleased, and left Addie alone in the kitchen.

--

Addie could already feel her pale skin soaking up the sun, though she had only been by the pool for a little over an hour. In that hour, Addie had decided that she wanted to spend as much time as she could in that spot in the sand next to the pool. It was as if she were in paradise, that nothing back in England even existed. This was perfect.

“Having a nice time?” Addie sat up on her towel in the sand and turned to see Draco standing behind her. He was wearing his usual black, long sleeved button up; Addie could just see the heat seeping into it. He was, at least, wearing a pair of cargo shorts.

She smiled, moving over on the towel to make room for him, “Quite nice,” she said, patting the space next to her.

Draco obliged, and took a seat, “When did you arrive?”

Laying back down, Addie adjusted her bikini top, “Three hours ago, maybe.”

“Nice trip?” he asked.

“Oh yes, you know how I love traveling by portkey,” she said sarcastically. Addie hated portkey travel; there was always the possibility of it leading the traveler right into a trap, much like what happened to Harry at the end of the Triwizard Tournament.

Sweat was forming on Draco’s brow, and it was rather obvious that his shirt was making him miserable in the heat. Addie sat up again, her bare legs curling behind her, “Draco,” she said, “Take this damn thing off,” she grabbed the sleeve of his shirt, and shook it lightly.

He looked at her, amused, his famous smirk forming on his lips, causing Addie to roll her eyes, “Oh? Coming on to me, are you?”

“Shut up,” she pushed his shoulder, “You’re in Africa. You should not be wearing this.”

“I’m fine, really,” he said, unconvincingly.

“Is it because of that mark?” Addie asked softly. He nodded silently, “I don’t care about it. You don’t have to hide it when it’s just us.”

Draco’s eyes widened, “Yes I do, Addie. I don’t want to wave it around in front of your face.”

Addie cupped her hand over his, “Draco,” she said sternly, “Take this shirt off now before you pass out from heat exhaustion.”

That classic smirk formed over his lips again, “Only if you take it off of me.”

A slight smirk formed over her own lips, “Okay then,” she said and grabbed the collar of his shirt. Quickly, she pulled herself up toward him, so she could swing her leg across him. She sat on his lap, one leg on either side of him; automatically, he moved his hands so they rested on each of her lower thighs. Addie hoped that her skin was already flushed enough from the sun so he wouldn’t notice the blush that she felt forming, “Well isn’t this cozy,” she said.

He laughed, “How bold of you.”

“How bold of you to ask me to undress you,” Addie retorted. She began working on undoing the buttons of the shirt. Each one she undid revealed more of his skin and Addie couldn’t help but laugh slightly. How many girls at Hogwarts wanted to be in this exact position, undressing Draco Malfoy, and it was she, his longtime childhood friend, who won the prize. She undid the last button, then reached up and pushed the shirt off of his shoulders, “Well, there you go.”

She swung her leg back across him, and fell back to her spot on the towel. Draco stared at her, “Well thank you for that,” he said, running a hand over his left forearm nervously.

A loud laugh escaped Addie’s lips, as she laid back down, “You act like you’ve never had a girl straddle you before.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” he asked, looking down at her.

“Girls at Hogwarts talk. Don’t think I don’t hear of your rendezvous.”

“Like who?”

“Well Pansy for one makes it a point to talk loudly about every time you sneak into her dormitory at night…”

“She is a liar!” he said loudly, “Fine, I snog her when I’m bored, but I have never come to see her in the night!”

Addie laughed, “Okay, I guess I figured that one wasn‘t true. Anyway, I know you had a little fling with Lavender Brown last year. Honestly, Draco, did you think I wouldn’t hear about that one? She’s one of my roommates!”

He sighed, “Yeah, we met up a couple times...”

“And I happen to know for a fact that you and Cho Chang had a thing going on while she was dating Harry! No wonder she was so quick to give up Dumbledore’s Army…”

Draco ran his fingers through his hair, “Yeah, that one was pretty much solely for the purpose of finding you guys,” he said, “That, and the fact that she was dating Potter.”

“How charming, you are. What a catch,” Addie said, jokingly, turning her head to look at him, “And those are just some of the ones I know of! I’m sure there are countless other Slytherins I haven’t heard about.”

He remained quiet for a moment, then turned the conversation on Addie, “Well, you’ve had some escapades yourself, Miss Clayworth. Need I remind you of that Seamus bloke you were seeing last year?”

Addie scoffed, “Fine, there was him, but that’s it! Before last year I was exceptionally inexperienced. Not that he gave me much experience… we snogged a few times, that’s it…”

“That can’t possibly be it. I hear Gryffindors throw pretty wild parties, you’re telling me nothing has ever happened with anyone at one of those?”

“We have been known to throw a few parties during Quidditch season, but no, sadly, I have not shagged any guys during one of our wild parties.”

Quite some time passed during which neither of them spoke. They simply sat in silence, enjoying each other’s company while the sun soaked their skin. A light, warm breeze blew across their bodies, causing a couple strands of Addie’s hair reach up and tickle Draco’s face. He smiled lightly as his nose caught a hint of her fruity perfume.

“What about Potter?”

“Hmm?” she asked.

“You can’t tell me that you’ve never snogged Potter, with how close you guys are.”

Addie shook her head from where she lay beside Draco, “I have never been with Harry.”

A wave of something that felt strangely like relief washed over Draco’s body. Often, when it was late at night, his mind would wander to Addie, and what she was doing up in Gryffindor. It made him damn jealous that Potter got to practically live with her nearly ten months out of the year, while he only got to see her in a class that they shared together, or catch a glimpse of her at meals.

But like Addie had so bluntly pointed out while they were dancing together at her party, that wasn’t her fault.

--

The pool was going to be Addie’s escape from the insanity that was the Malfoy family, she could tell this by the time she got done with their first “family” meal together.

To call the dinner awkward and uncomfortable was an extreme understatement. Between the long, awkward silences that filled the dining room, Lucius took to grilling Addie about what happened to her at her birthday party. Narcissa hadn’t been kidding when she said that he was interested in it; he was downright obsessed with it, actually.

Making it even worse, Lucius made it a point to let Addie know just how many Cruciatus Curses Draco had been hit with in the past five days, in his quest for knowledge. At that little fun fact, Narcissa burst out in tears, Lucius doing nothing to comfort his wife, leaving Addie feeling incredibly guilty.

As soon as she was dismissed, Addie headed out the glass doors and into the night, her destination being the pool.

She stood on the pool’s edge, her shorts and t-shirt discarded in the sand, leaving her in the same bikini she had been in all day. One of her pedicured toes touched the water, causing a few ripples to cross the surface.

Just as she had mustered up enough courage to jump into the cold water, a pair of hands closed around her eyes and she let out a startled scream. She turned to see a laughing Draco, “Merlin, you’re a jerk sometimes. You scared the hell out of me!”

“Who else would be out here with you?” he asked, still chuckling a little. He had discarded his shirt easily this time, throwing it on top of Addie’s clothes.

“Your father, here to curse me until I reveal my secrets,” Addie said, and Draco winced a bit. She wondered if he had been punished again after she escaped the house.

“Well,” he said quietly, “you’re in luck because he wouldn’t do that unless your father was here.”

“Joy, I have one more day of peace,” Addie replied sarcastically.

Draco glanced at the water, “Well are you going in or what?”

“Give me a minute.”

He completely ignored her. With one swift movement, he put an arm around her and jumped, catapulting the both of them into the water.

Addie came up, sputtering water, “Damn you! I am going to…”

“To what?” he said, mockingly with a smirk.

“Hurt you!” she yelled, flustered.

She lunged at him. Instead of swimming away, he simply grabbed her by her upper arms and carried her to the nearby pool wall, trapping her there with his arms, “That was a feeble attempt.”

Pouting, she crossed her arms across her chest and stuck out her bottom lip, only making him laugh again. After a moment, she reached up and ran her fingers through the few pieces of hair that had fallen from her ponytail, making them unstuck from her face. The light from the moon gave her a shimmery glow.

“Hey Addie.”

“Hmm?” she didn’t look up; she was busy watching the ripples float across the water as she lightly tapped the pool of water separating them with the palm of her hand.

“You’re pretty.”

She let her hand drop through the water to her side and lifted her head to look him in his eyes and smiled. He cupped her face with his hand and moved through the water, closer to her. Lightly, she traced her fingers over his bicep, and down the rest of his arm, causing him to shiver, a movement that Addie did not miss. She giggled to herself quietly.

Then, just when their faces were mere centimeters apart, Addie moved slightly to the right, turned her face, and kissed him softly on the cheek, “You’re quite pretty yourself, Draco Malfoy,” she whispered in her ear.

With that, she pushed herself up, out of the pool, wrapped her towel around her body and started her trek back up to the house.

Draco stayed in the pool, just watching her figure get smaller and smaller, until, finally, he couldn’t see it any longer.