Smile Like You Mean It

I'm back! Unbelievably so, I know. My boyfriend has been wonderful and persuaded me to sit back down at the computer.

So, without further ado, I dedicate the story to him...

Hope this chapter lives up to expectations, and I promise the writing will improve over the next few chapters. I'm out of practice!

Sooooo sorry to all those who have been waiting for this!


xxxxxxxxxx
Aera

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Chapter 21 - Panic


Aera entered the Great Hall next morning with a nervous air about her. She had been plagued by strange dreams during the night that revolved around Draco and Harry, dark figures in the shadows and a menacing air to it all.

She was still determined to find a chance to talk to Draco and so her eyes went straight to his usual seat as she passed through the doors. He was there and instinctively looked up to meet her gaze. Rather than a smile on his face, he had a look of concern. She felt a momentary flicker of uncertainty, then brushed it away. Knowing that breakfast was too public an affair for a chance to talk to him, she resolved to follow him when he had finished eating.

"You don't look like you slept too well." remarked Harry as she sat down beside him. She shrugged and helped herself to scrambled eggs whilst watching Draco out of the corner of her eye. She wanted to be sure he didn't leave without her noticing.

"Had some weird dreams." she replied, realising that Harry was waiting for an answer.

She needn't have worried about Draco leaving without her. As she glanced at him once more he gave a barely detectable nod and stood up. She hurriedly finished her mouthful of eggs and washed it down with a mouthful of pumpkin juice.

"Damn, I forgot one of my textbooks up in the dorm. I'll see you in class." she said quickly to Harry and grabbed her bag. He nodded, distracted by his bacon and sausages.

Draco had already passed through the double doors by the time Aera reached them and she sped up, unsure of where he would be headed. The Entrance Hall was deserted and she paused. Then a hand waved from down a darkened corridor that curved behind the old staircase. Relieved she headed towards it.

The hallway was full of dust and badly lit. She had never been down here. Draco was standing a little way down, holding open a door of twisted oak. She stepped through and into the classroom beyond. Her footsteps disturbed the layers of dust on the floor and it billowed up, catching in her throat and making her cough. Draco followed behind her and she saw him make a sweeping motion with his wand out of the corner of her eye.

The dust skimmed across the floor and settled in one of the corners. It made quite a pile there. This classroom had clearly been in disuse for come time.

Aera turned to face Draco and smiled wearily as he raised his hand a placed it on her cheek.

"You look tired."

She gave a low laugh. "You too. I suppose yesterday was pretty eventful. Emotionally draining if nothing else."

Draco nodded and moved away to lean against a desk that appeared to have all four legs at different heights.

Aera joined him, resting her hands on the table behind her in case it decided to dump them on the floor.

"The potion is ready. They want me to take it tomorrow night."

She was aware of his jaw stiffening. It was clear that he had been as worried as she was at the prospect of their timid relationship accidentally coming out in the open. She had considered backing out of the agreement with Harry and the others but knew that would result in her destroying any chance of getting them to trust her. She was out of ideas.

"Ok." Draco let out a heavy breath. "I can see one option that might work."

Aera couldn't help the grin that spread over her lips. She had known that Draco was resourceful and intelligent. That was one of the things she found so appealing in him.

"If you tell me what time and where you all are meeting, then I'll make my way up there and hide a little before you arrive. That way I can listen in and if it sounds like they're getting too close to our secret, I can come out and prevent them from going any further."

Aera was nodding by the time he finished. There was a danger in it, but ultimately it was the best plan. It had the chance of working and that was more than she could come up with at the moment.

"Well, we're meeting in the Astronomy Tower at seven." Aera said, feeling a blossom of hope.

"That's settled then. I suppose we'd better head to class." Draco finished. He stood and moved to position himself in front of her, his hand out in a gentlemanly fashion to help her stand. She couldn't help laughing at the smirk on his face as she took the proffered hand.

It pulled her abruptly and she found herself stumbling forward to press up against a hard body that wrapped around her.

"We still have a few minutes till class." he said huskily in her ear. Aera shivered at the deepness of his voice which seemed to pass straight through her ears and settle in the pit of her stomach. She lifted her head to meet soft lips with her own. There was tenderness there with a touch of impatience. Without thought her hands came up to grip fistfuls of fair hair and press the lips more firmly to her own. She felt the growl in the hollow of his throat as her tongue tangoed with his.

It felt so good, so right. She was lost in this moment of pure unadulterated passion.

A harsh ringing resounded around them, making them both jump away from each other. It was time for class. Though Aera was loath to leave the confines of this room where she could share in this man's wildness, she had no desire to be late for class. She gave a rueful shrug to Draco and turned to pick up her bag from where she had dropped it by the door.

Before she could leave, however, she was pulled around by strong arms, back into a kiss that seared her lips with the heat of it's fervour. Unable to resist, she kissed him back, class forgotten.

Then he was stepping away, a smirk plain to see on his handsome features. Aera felt her cheeks flood with colour, both at her abandonment and amusement. It was clear who had won this round of playful dominance.

She gave him a whack on the arm that was perhaps a touch too rough and swung her bag up onto her shoulder.

"Come on, Romeo. We're late."

Draco nodded and moved to open the door for her. As he left he swept his wand around once more to replace the dust on the floor. He was, after all, skilled at remaining unnoticed.


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Despite his confident front with Aera, Draco was less than satisfied with his plan. He was harbouring feelings of unease concerning the meeting. He knew he could act well enough to convince the Golden Trio that he had stumbled upon their Veritaserum Venture accidentally, that was not something he worried about. He was instead dwelling on the idea of Potter finding out about Aera and who she really was. Harry's overprotectiveness was obvious to anyone who had ever had the misfortune to meet him when he was around the Mudblood or Weasel. How would he be when he found out that he had a sister? Would Aera and Draco manage to continue their covert liaisons?

He can't have her! Draco was surprised at the force of this thought. He glared at the complicated theorem they were supposed to be working out in Astrology. It sat there on the page, full of confusing lines and numbers that he really couldn't care less about.

He feared losing Aera to Potter and he wasn't sure that the fear of that wouldn't make him do something stupid. After all he had the perfect opportunity to do it. He knew when and where they would be using the Veritaserum, so if her was to interrupt things too early, it could put a real spoke in their wheels.

He gave himself a mental slap in the face. If he did that, Aera would be furious. And while he found her attractive and undoubtedly desirable, he also couldn't help but feel a little intimidated. Her ability to perform wandless magic both feared and entranced him. She was a formidable woman. Perhaps that was why he found her so compelling.

"Time's up." came the liquid voice of their Astronomy teacher Aurora Sinistra. Draco snarled inwardly and hastily sketched down an answer that seemed somewhat credible. Seconds later the sheet flew off the desk and into the professor's waiting arms. He sat back lazily. He was passing all classes easily anyway. He wouldn't worry about some small little pop test.

As he made his way out of class and back to his dorm, he ran over what he would say to Blaise. Classes had finished for the day and it would be his first chance to talk to the man face to face without anyone around.

He knew Blaise had already guessed at the depths of his feelings for Aera. He knew his friend would handle the situation delicately. But Draco was also frustrated at the secrecy in this relationship. The girls he had dated before Aera turned up had been all too happy to parade his favour in front of the school. This was something altogether new.


Blaise wasn't in the common room so Draco made his way up into the private dorm. As he entered he flung his bag onto his bed, his eyes immediately finding his dark-skinned friend lying casually across his own duvet.

"We need to talk." Draco said shortly. Blaise looked up from the notes he had been studying with surprise. It wasn't very often that Draco was so blatant.

He put the notes aside and shifted into a sitting position. Draco glanced once more around the room to ensure they were alone before walking over to lean against the bed-post. He felt too agitated to sit.

All of a sudden he realised that he couldn't find the words to tell Blaise what had happened between himself and Aera the previous day. It had all been so new and confusing and intense. He opened his mouth, but didn't have a clue where to start. He wasn't sure if he could really remember what had started it all.

Blaise's deep brown eyes watched him silently for a moment as Draco struggled to begin. Then understanding filled the dark orbs.

"Oh." he said very softly.

Draco's mouth snapped shut.

"You've talked to Aera." Blaise continued. "And told her how you feel."

Draco started to shake his head vehemently before realising that Blaise was absolutely correct. Shock poured through him. It had been exactly that, though the summing up of it left a lot to be desired. He had told Aera what he felt, unusual in itself. He wasn't a romantic guy whatsoever.

"She feels the same way." Blaise whispered. There was a hint of contained emotion in the Italian's voice and face. It was probably just irritation at having to figure out what had been said. Draco wasn't paying enough attention to try and decipher what was going on in his friend's head.

"We had an . . . interesting conversation." Draco finally managed. "And yes, I found out that she feels . . . similarly about me."

Blaise turned away, grabbing his notes and tidying them up to place in his desk drawer. Draco felt momentarily surprised at the menial task Blaise performed. He normally sat still and quiet whilst Draco explained stuff. The surprise was shirt-lived, however. Draco's thoughts were dragged back to the Astronomt Tower.

"We've decided to keep this secret, for obvious reasons. My father for one, he'd be delighted to have such an easy path to her. And her friends. I'm pretty sure they wouldn't be happy about this, whatever way it played out." Realising he was babbling, Draco hastily shut his mouth again. Blaise's silence was unnerving him. He should have been offering advice by now.

Blaise sat with his back to Draco, leaning forward over the edge of the bed. "Sounds wise." He said quietly.

Finally interested in his friend's reluctance to talk, Draco scowled. There was one piece of news that would surely perk Blaise's interest.

"She's Harry Potter's sister."

The reaction was instant. Blaise's torse swivelled to fix wide eyes on him, his mouth slack. Confusion and disbelief warred on his face for a moment before it suddenly went blank.

"If you're pulling my leg, it's not funny."

Draco frowned again. Blaise was acting in the weirdest way today. He had never had to ask if Draco was joking. He had always known his best friend's moods and thoughts, sometimes better than Draco did.

Blaise obviously realised that his accusation had been pointless. The lines of his mouth turned down slightly and he settled into a more comfortable position.

"Well, that makes things kind of difficult. After all, if your father knew, Aera would be in a huge amount of danger." A thought occurred to him. "If you really do care for her, maybe you should just stay away from her then."

Fury, hot and consuming, flared in Draco. "What? You think I would just walk away?"

Blaise held up his hands in peace. "Just a thought, Drake. There are plenty of reasons why it would make sense. Your father would use you to get to her if he ever found out. Beside, have you considered the idea that she's faking her feelings for you in order to use you? I wouldn't put it past Potter to ask that of her."

Draco relaxed slightly. "He doesn't know. Yet."

Blaise's eyebrows shot up and he let out a bark of laughter. "You mean, you and I found out that Potter has a sister before he did?" A wide grin spread over his features.

Draco shook his head and suddenly the bizarreness of the situation struck him and he found himself laughing along with his friend. How strange that Potter's sworn enemy would find out his biggest secret before he knew it himself.

Inevitably, this thought led to what was to come.

"She's taking Veritaserum tomorrow night and telling him."

Blaise went very quiet, his lips pursing. He would know, of course, what the potion might reveal. "How does Aera plan to avoid revealing your relationship?"

"I'll break up the party before they get to that part." Draco assured him.

Blaise nodded. "Fair enough. It will probably work. Just don't be late. I doubt you want to deal with Potter finding out that his sister is dating his worst enemy."

Draco nodded. For some reason the reassurance he had expected to feel at telling his friend these secrets wasn't as pronounced as he'd imagined it would be. He felt more like he should be reassuring Blaise, but he was buggered if he knew why.

But that could wait. He had planning to do. Tomorrow could easily go very, very wrong.

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Yipee! Sorry to keep my readers waited so very, very, very long. :( I'm a terrible person, I know.

But I have few chapters I can update immediately, so at least you'll have something to keep you going for a while!

Sorry again....

Aera