Who Knew

A/N: This story is both a Prequel and a Sequel to my Lucius/Severus fic Just Between Us . It's kind of nice because you get the best of two worlds! The first half explains how the initials on the wall came to be, and the second half will have information in what happened to Lucius and Severus after they left the cave. If you haven't read it, you may want to, just so you're not confused later on. :) Btw: this story is complete on my side (21 chapters), so you won't have too much of a wait with updates, although I will be adding and revising a few things at times. This story takes place after Book 6. Thanks and enjoy!! :)

*****
He walked along the train, looking for a quiet place to relax. He wasn’t sure how people would react seeing him back, but he still wasn’t ready to explain what really happened at the end of last year.

As he traveled down the train, he received many curious stares, while listening to the quiet whispers. He proudly walked along, not showing any remorse. Only the important people knew about that fateful night and that was all that mattered.

He slid into an empty compartment, hoping no one would follow. He took the seat next to the window and absentmindedly watched the scenery pass him by. Thoughts ran through his head, remembering what he recently discovered. He hated himself for having these feelings. He closed his eyes, as he felt them water. He chastised himself, as he did all summer long, reminding himself that it was not okay to cry. He quickly wiped his tears away, while he continued to stare out the window.

“What the hell are you doing here?” cried out a voice.

He jumped in his seat, not hearing the door to his compartment open or somebody enter. He turned around and sneered, when he saw who was standing in front of him. “Hello to you, too, Weasel.”

Ron became red in the face, as he stared down at Draco Malfoy. He couldn’t believe the boy would actually show his face at school again. He clenched his fists, when he saw the smirk appear. He narrowed his eyes, feeling the rage want to come out. He flinched, when he felt a hand on his shoulder, and quickly turned to see the source of the hand.

“Ron, are you okay, mate? You look-” Harry stopped talking, when he saw Malfoy. He instantly understood why his best friend was livid and even became red in the face, himself. “Malfoy,” he gritted.

“Very good, Potter,” Malfoy smirked, as he pointed toward Weasley. “Now, who’s that?”

Harry narrowed his eyes, as he kept his glare on him. There were only a few people in his life that he truly despised, and Malfoy was definitely one of them. “So, how’d you do it? Bribe your way in?” he asked. “Or did your daddy write a note to the school, while sitting in his cell in Azkaban?”

Draco felt his body tense at the thought of his father locked away. He abruptly stood up from his seat, clenching his fists in anger. He slowly walked over to the Boy Wonder, glaring at him with so much hate in his eyes. And then, silently, he continued out the door and down the train to another compartment.

Harry was puzzled that he didn’t receive any type of retort from him. He looked over at Ron, who also had a similar confused look on his face. As they stood for a few seconds longer, staring at each other in confusion, another body had slipped in between them and sat down on the same seat Draco was sitting on before. The girl furrowed her eyebrows at her two best friends, wondering why they were still standing.

“Did I miss something?” she asked them.

The two suddenly broke free from their stares, as they turned toward Hermione. They didn’t even realize she had entered. Harry shook his head, as Ron walked over to the seat next to her, kissed her on her cheek, and wrapped his arm around her shoulder, not noticing her draw back a little.

“You just missed the ferret,” Ron commented.

“Oh,” Hermione nodded in understanding, as she stared over at Harry who still had not sat down yet. “Are you okay, Harry?”

Harry looked over at his two friends and, without answering Hermione’s question, left. Hermione looked over at Ron, raising her eyebrows in question. Ron shrugged, not sure where his best friend was going.

Harry kept his eyes on the floor, as he walked down the aisle of the train. He was suddenly filled with much sadness, as he remembered all about last year and how his mentor was no longer alive. He thought about everyone in his life who was now gone, reminding himself he would no longer get close to anyone, for fear they too would leave him. He had his two best friends, and of course the Weasley family, but he still had to distance himself as much as he could from them. The fear of losing any of them would be too much for him to handle.

As he continued staring down, he suddenly ran into someone, toppling them both to the floor. “Damn it, Potter,” he heard a voice yell out, as he felt somebody squirming underneath him. He looked down and felt his body shiver, when he saw icy, gray eyes staring up at him. He quickly rolled off the body belonging to Malfoy.

Draco had already stood up by the time Harry did. He ran his hand through his platinum blonde hair, straightening it from the fall. He glanced over at Potter, before he turned and walked away. He got about five feet, when he suddenly heard his name. He turned back around to face Potter and furrowed his eyebrows, waiting for him to continue.

“What gives?” Harry asked.

“What are you talking about?”

Harry crossed his arms over his chest. “This is the second time you’ve walked away without saying any smart-ass remark,” he explained.

“You’re counting?” he smirked.

Harry rolled his eyes, before taking a deep breath. “Look,” he began, “I’m sorry about before.”

Draco laughed and shook his head, “No you’re not.”

Harry shrugged, knowing he was caught in a lie. He actually didn’t know why he wanted to apologize to him just then. “Okay, you’re right. I’m not sorry.”

Draco smirked, before turning back around and continuing his walk away from him. He ran his hand through his hair one more time, as he turned the corner. Thoughts were suddenly flooding his mind and he needed to find an escape.

He slipped inside the bathroom, locking the door behind him. He looked in the mirror, staring at the image before him. “Stop it, Draco,” he scolded himself. He then frowned, as he swept a few of his dangling strands of hair away from his eyes. “You’re such a disgrace,” he muttered.

*****
After his little encounter with Malfoy, Harry quickly decided to return to the compartment his two friends sat, needing to clear his head of a few things. When he entered, he noticed they were sitting a little further apart. He sat down across from them, staring curiously at their behavior. He was a bit surprised to see them distant with each other. He shook the thought out of his mind when he realized they probably just had a fight or something.

“Where’d you go?” Ron asked his best friend.

Harry shook his head, “Just needed to breathe.”

After he answered his friend, he silently stared out the window, letting his troubled thoughts consume him. Hermione watched him from her seat, sensing something was wrong with her friend. Ever since the summer, she had noticed a change in him. He had kept himself distant from them, rarely even writing letters. She then thought about her own summer and blushed a bit. She definitely had no room to complain, since she was pretty busy herself.

Ron wrapped his arm around Hermione, when he saw her blush. He smirked, thinking it had to do with him. He mindlessly stared out the window, still cradling her shoulder.

Harry watched in shock, as he took notice of Hermione’s face when Ron wrapped his arm around her. He could tell she felt repulsed by her boyfriend’s touch, which confused him even more. He stared at her for a bit more in wonderment, before his eyes met hers. She gave him a pleading look, hoping he wouldn’t say anything. He nodded, which made her silently thank him with her eyes.

“So, Harry, did you have a good summer?” she asked, wanting to lighten up the mood.

Unfortunately, she soon realized that was probably not the best thing to ask, seeing how her friend’s face fell. She watched him fidget in his seat, now certain he had a secret to tell.

“It was fine,” he finally said. “I’ve learned a few things over the summer, which I guess is good.”

Ron became interested and turned to look over at Harry. “Yeah? The Horcruxes?”

Harry glanced over at Hermione, before looking over at Ron. He nodded, “Yeah, the Horcruxes.” He again peeked over at Hermione, noticing she didn’t buy it. He sighed to himself, knowing the smart little witch would find out soon enough.