Smile Like You Mean It

Chapter 19 - Secrets Revealed



Aera led the way up to the Astronomy Tower. She knew it was wrong to be skipping class like this, but the situation could not wait to be explained. Draco was walking a fine line right now and she needed to hold his attention long enough. Waiting until classes finished for the day meant that he could see Harry in the corridors at any time. That could only end in disaster.

The tower was deserted. Classes for this subject were held at night or in a separate classroom. They were alone. Aera walked over to a window and stared out. She wasn't sure how to begin, but she knew that whatever was said would be difficult for him to understand.

Turning back to where the Slytherin was lurking by the door, she calmed her nerves.

"You think you saw Harry and I in a... romantic embrace."

Draco gave a short nod, but said nothing.

"I realise I am not going to be able to convince you otherwise without giving you a few explanations. I didn't want to do this, and the consequences may be rather severe if I am wrong about you. I really hope I'm not."

Aera couldn't believe she was doing this. She was prepared to reveal things to Harry's mortal enemy and if she was wrong, it could end up with her having to do something she'd prefer not to. Memory charms were strictly forbidden by the ministry, but she knew she was ready to cast one if it turned out that Draco was really for Voldemort. Sweat made her palms slick, but she refrained from wiping them on her skirt.

"I was comforting Harry. But I cannot tell you more without assurance of something. I need to know if you stand for the Dark Side."

Draco's eyes went wide and he jerked back as if she had struck him. She felt her heart pounding against her ribcage. She prayed silently that she was right, that this young man before her was not as simple as the rest of the school believed. Seconds passed and she could imagine the wheels turning in his head. Finally he moved forward to rest himself atop one of the desks pushed against the wall. His head hung forward, hiding his face.

"I don't know." he whispered.

Relief flooded through Aera, making her knees weak. Regaining her composure she walked over and stood in front of him. Using the tips of her fingers she placed them under his chin. He looked up at her and she gazed into those incredible silver eyes.

"Then I think it's time I told you some things. Maybe then you'll know." she said shakily. He nodded, though still looked wary. She moved to his side and sat down on the desk, her ankles crossing. "You know I have a secret, but I don't think even you could imagine what it is. When you hear it you will think I'm lying, but I ask you to think about it. If you have questions, ask. It will help you to understand."

Draco nodded and she rolled her shoulders, preparing herself for what could easily be the biggest mistake she had yet to make.

"I was born in a place called Godric's Hollow. I lived there for a year of my life with my parents and my twin brother. A few days before our birthday, we were betrayed by a man my parents thought was their friend and Voldemort came to our house. He killed my parents and tried to kill my brother. He didn't know about me, you see. My brother survived and we were saved by Dumbledore's supporters. They separated my brother and I, took us to different homes. I met him for the first time this summer. It was Harry."

Aera went quiet, waiting for a response. For a long while, Draco was silent. He had made no comment as she spoke and there was no telling what he was thinking.

"This is fantasy, surely." Draco said, disbelief clear in his voice. "You expect me to believe that for sixteen years your identity has been kept hidden? That the Dark Lord has no knowledge of your existence."

"Dumbledore is a master at deception and illusion. I know that better than most. He taught me well in keeping secrets."

Draco was shaking his head. "It's too fictional. There are no facts."

"I was sent to an orphanage run by muggles after I was taken from Godric's Hollow. When I turned eleven Dumbledore asked Madame Maxime to allow me to enter Beauxbatons. I knew of my heritage at that point, but was sworn to secrecy. At the end of last summer, Dumbledore requested that I join Hogwarts. What else is not clear?" Impatience made Aera's tone sharp, but Draco didn't appear to notice.

"If you're Harry's twin, why don't you look more like him? The Patil's are twins and you can't tell one from the other."

Aera smiled inwardly at his naivety. "Twins don't necessarily have to be identical. We have similarities, but we are also different genders. I am the elder, born a few minutes before Harry."

Feeling his eyes on her, Aera met Draco's gaze. To her comfort, there was a tinge of doubt in his look, as if he wasn't sure anymore. His eyes raked her face, taking in her features.

"I... I don't see them." He said finally.

"You are a man, and so look at a woman in a different way."

"He doesn't know."

Aera shook her head, wondering if she was going to face a gleeful malevolence or a lecture on keeping secrets. Instead Draco just gave a grave nod.

"Aera Potter... It suits you well." he said with a small smile.

Aera couldn't help the grin that leapt to her lips. Her eyes expressed the gratitude she felt at such a concession.

"What you saw in Professor Black's office was me comforting my brother. Nothing more." she commented, wanting to make sure that he understood that. But an expression of unease had taken over his features and he slipped down from the table, long strides taking him over to the window.

"You told me this... What if I had been lying? What if I really was for the Dark Side..."

Aera got off the desk also, walking over to Draco and placing her hand on his shoulder. "I took a risk... and it paid off."

Draco turned on her, eyes hard. "It was stupid! You shouldn't trust people like that Aera! Don't you understand how such a thing could be used against you? If I was a Death Eater I could have you already disabled and on your way to the Dark Lord!"

Aera stepped back, shocked by the force of his words. She felt scared by his reactions. "I... I wanted to trust you-"

"You can't trust! You'll end up getting hurt..." Draco stopped and spun around once more. Aera was shaking, her arms wrapped around herself. She couldn't understand why he had gotten so angry.

"I can't see you getting hurt, Aera. I don't really understand it but... I need to be sure you're safe." Draco turned and stepped towards her. Aera flinched away and he stopped short, pain written on his face. "Since you came to this school I've watched you every day. I've hated every time any guy talked to you, every time you walked down the hallway and I knew that mine were not the only pair of eyes that watched you."

Aera didn't know how to respond. He had frightened her, his tone was still harsh. Yet the words were so tender. She could feel the sting of tears at the corners of her eyes and she began to turn away, determined not to let him see her weakness.

"Please..." The pleading tone stopped her and she felt his hand gently take her arm. "Please don't turn away. I didn't mean to scare you."

Aera hesitated, but the fear that had filled her was receding, being replaced with a longing so powerful that it was suffocating her. When she felt his presence against her back, she couldn't hold it off any longer. With a sob she faced him once more, burying her head against his chest. He was the perfect height for her. As his arms came around to hold her tight, her own hands gripped the front of his shirt, tears wetting the fabric.

She was not sure at what point this embrace became something else. His hands touched her hair, running the strands through his fingers. She pressed her body more firmly against his chest, feeling the ragged rise and fall of his breath. His lips came down to press against her forehead, her eyelid, her cheek. When their lips met it was like nothing she had experienced yet. Such a tender yet passionate kiss that left her breathless and weak.

When he pushed her away from him so as to look into her eyes, Aera felt the loss of his warmth. She met his gaze and knew that things between them would never again be the same.

"I am yours, Aera Potter." he said firmly.

Aera gave a frail smile. "As I am yours, Draco Malfoy."

He pulled her to him once more and she clung to him as if he was the only one who could save her. They stood there, unable to move away from each other. Aera listened to his heart beating, the rhythmic, steady pulse of a man who she could always trust. Whatever deception he used to protect himself against the twisted politics of the Slytherin house or against the powers of the dark that his father followed, he would never use on her.

"I may not like Pott- Harry, but I'm on your side, Aera. Whether you are for light or dark, I'm with you."

Aera curled her fingers through the material of Draco's shirt, happiness filling her until she thought she could scream. This was not the man everyone else saw. This was her Draco.

"Tell me, Draco, what made you believe me?" Aera asked.

She felt him smile into her hair. "It started out as a feeling, which then grew into a hope. I knew you were different from the start, but I couldn't understand it. I know there is a war coming. But I was fighting so much inside that it was hard to see what was before my eyes. When you told me who you were, it was the sign. I finally understood why I had met you and there was no question of believing you." He took her head in his hands and raised her face until he could look down on her. "I knew then that I was never meant to fight for the Dark Side."

Aera gave Draco a relieved smile, but it slid from her face. He touched her cheek gently, somewhat awkwardly, as if unsure how to comfort. He was looking down into her eyes.

"I don't know what to do, Draco." she whispered. "Harry is making a Veritaserum potion which will be ready in a few days and I've promised to answer his questions. But what now?"

She knew she didn't have to explain more. Draco was smart enough to figure out what she was thinking. If she told Harry about Draco than he would find it just as difficult to trust her. She was still determined to tell him everything, but she didn't think she could face another trial of having to prove herself to him.

"Don't tell him about us. We won't tell anyone. When we're alone we can be together, but other than that, we just keep this as our secret." There was remorse in his voice as he spoke. "But believe me, right now I want to shout it out in the Great Hall that we're together. This isn't what I want, but it will protect you."

There was something in his voice that told Aera it wasn't just Harry that Draco was concerned about. She pulled away from his embrace enough to peer into his face, trying hard to see what was behind those bright blue eyes.

"There's something else." she said softly.

At first he didn't appear willing to answer. His lips went tight and his grip on her loosened, as if he was going to move away. He was stopped when Aera grabbed the front of his shirt, holding him in his place. The frown on her face was severe enough to make him hesitate.

"No more secrets, Drake." she said firmly.

Draco closed his eyes briefly. "My father has been sending me letters asking about you. I've told him I don't know anything more than rumour. You should know that he is very much involved with You-Know-Who and thinks that I am following in his footsteps."

When Draco opened his eyes it was to see Aera's arms racing towards him and wrapping themselves around his neck. He was pulled downwards and she pressed her lips hard against his. It was a short kiss that left him breathless and he eyed the young woman before him as if she had two heads.

Aera was grinning wildly. "Thank you. Thank you for telling me the truth, for not thinking that I couldn't handle it. I'm not worried. It will work out." She took a deep breath. "And I have another alternative. Harry, Ron and myself concocted a plan to find out more about the Death Eaters. I was to... seduce you." A blush crept over her face and Draco grinned. "Maybe we can play that out. If I can bring back titbits to Harry that I've managed to carefully 'extract' from you, maybe it will allow us to spend a little more time together."

"You were trying to seduce me?"

Aera punched Draco in the arm as he threw back his head and let out a gale of laughter. She couldn't help the silly grin on her own face. It did sound silly when it was said like that. Draco was still sniggering and she folded her arms, turning away to hide the fierce redness of her cheeks.

She was pulled back around. "It worked." he said softly, kissing her gently on the lips. She kissed him back and they stood there locked in embrace until a loud ringing jolted them apart.

Aera looked around, her heart pounding. A whole class period had passed and they were going to be late for their next one. And they had no excuse for missing the last. She looked around at Draco who seemed unconcerned.

"We'd better get going. I'm going to go to Professor Black and ask him to write me a late note. I'll tell him I've been in the bathrooms trying to recover from Cerridwen. What about you?"

Draco shrugged. "The teachers know I've skipped class before. This sort of this is House issues, so it'll be Snape giving me punishment. He won't be too severe."

Aera shook her head in bemusement. "What's the deal between him and you? It can't just be that he's friends with your father, or that you're in his house."

Draco shrugged, his lips creased in a smile. He bent towards her and gave her a final kiss. "I'd love to tell you everything about me right now, but I think we should get moving." Aera cringed in embarrassment at her dizziness. "You go down first, I'll follow in a few minutes so that people don't see we were here together."

"Ok. When will we get some time together again?" Aera asked sadly. She had a feeling this was going to be incredibly difficult to pull off.

Draco brushed her hair back behind her ear. "I'll find you."


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Aera knocked on the D.A.D.A. classroom door and entered. Thankfully the next class, first-years, hadn't gone in yet. She saw Sirius at the end of the room, readying a metal bound chest. He looked up when he heard her and waited while she approached him. Aera took a deep breath, hoping she was not about to get into trouble.

"Um, Sirius would you be able to do me a favour?" she asked carefully. "I missed the last period and I need a note to excuse me for it."

Sirius gazed at her sternly. "I would like to believe that this has something to do with comforting Harry, but it doesn't, does it?"

Aera winced. He was a lot quicker to see the truth than she had expected. Aiming for honesty, she rephrased what she had been about to say. "I'd like you to write that I was upset and recovering, but that's not what happened. You know I spent some time with Harry in your office, but then someone else came in. I needed to spend some time sorting out what happened. Harry went to class. Myself and the other person went to the Astronomy tower and talked."

"Aera," Sirius said slowly. "It isn't ok for a student, let alone two, to bunk off class like that. You're education is important-"

"I know Sirius! But some things are more important!" Aera snapped. "This wasn't a class skipped because I didn't want to go, it was because I was brought to this school for a reason and I realised that by taking the time to confront something, I might actually get somewhere!"

She stopped. Perhaps she had gone too far. Sirius, after all, was a teacher and as such had the power to call her down for her actions and punish her for misbehaviour.

Sirius eyed her calmly. "You're emotional outburst appears genuine. You are not going to tell me who this mystery person is?"

Aera shook her head. "I know you could quite easily find out who it is by checking the records of absent students at the end of the day. If you feel the need to, go ahead. But I promise, things are in motion now that may just help the eventual outcome of this war."

Sirius grinned and pulled a piece of parchment across the desk towards him. Quickly scribbling a note he handed it to Aera. "I'll let you keep your secrets a little longer, I think. Try to come and see me regularly though, to keep me updated on how things are going."

Aera nodded hurriedly. "I'll try. And thanks, Sirius." Without looking back she rushed out of the classroom and to her next class.

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There you go! Finally Aera and Draco are on the road to honesty between each other. I know his character may be a little off, but that will be remedied.

Ok, don't forget to review review review!!

Aera