TRAINING WHEELS
THE 'TRUTH'.

27th October 1996

When Daphne Greengrass sat down in front of Amora Buckley at the empty Hufflepuff table during a free period, all that Amora could feel was dread. Scanning the girl in front of her over, Amora realised that Daphne was actually very beautiful. Long, blonde hair and eyes so blue they looked like crystals, it was hard to think overwise. She had freckles that dusted all over her perfectly pointed nose and high cheekbones, and thin, arched brows that framed her face perfectly.

And she was smirking. Trawling some hair around her finger and smirking at Amora. The brunette girl pretended not to notice the tense atmosphere in the air as she glanced up from her book and pursed her lips.

"Can I help you, Daphne?" She asked gently.

"It's 'Greengrass' to you, Buckley," Daphne replied.

She was almost taken aback by her hostility. Amora had to refrain from scowling, subtly peering behind Daphne at the Slytherin table. There were a few of them dotted up and down also using their free period to study, but not that many - and none of her old friends either.

"Okay. Can I help you, Greengrass?" Amora repeated with a little more bitterness.

"I just wanted to say that it looks like I did win, after all," Daphne said, unable to keep the smug smile from sweeping across her face.

Amora's brows furrowed in confusion. "Excuse me?"

Daphne scoffed. "As if you don't remember what you said to me on the night of Draco's birthday party."

Amora quickly recalled being told the next morning that she had had an argument with Daphne but Draco had taken her to bed before it could escalate. He had told her not to bother apologising because Daphne had started it, and now she could guess what it was about. But what did she mean that she had won? Won what? Draco?

The idea of Draco quickly moving onto Daphne made her feel sick with anxiety. She tried not to show it as she spoke.

"Actually, I don't recall," Amora replied as smoothly as possible. "Would you like to tell me exactly what you won? Or should I start guessing?"

Daphne scowled a little. "Draco. You said I'd never have a chance with him, but look at the two of you now: broken up. It seems like your words really... backfired, didn't they?"

"My word still stands. You don't stand a chance with him, Greengrass. Even now," Amora replied confidently.

"Oh, come on. Don't kid yourself, Buckley," Daphne scoffed incredulously, "It was never going to work out. I think the both of you knew that. He deserves someone a bit more like me - someone that's from an actual respectable Pureblood family. Somebody prettier, even. And smarter, and funnier -"

"I hope you're not talking about yourself," Amora laughed. "Your comparisons really are debatable. Listen, Greengrass. I'd love to sit here all day and point out our differences, but the fact is..." She pursed her lips and cocked her head to the side, feigning sympathy. "Draco chose me. And then even after he kissed you, he chose me again. And I'm the one that broke up with him, so don't be fooled. If I wanted him back, all I'd have to do is snap my fingers."

Daphne was red with rage. Amora wasn't sure where her words had come from. She wasn't even sure if the last statement was very true anymore, but Daphne didn't need to know that. She just wanted the Slytherin girl to piss off and leave her alone rather than to sit in front of her and feed her insecurities she hadn't had before.

"You wish it was that easy, Buckley," Daphne spat. "He looks happier than ever without you. I've never seen him laugh and smile so much as when he's in the common room and you're nowhere to be seen."

It was a stab to the heart, but Amora was pretty sure that it wasn't true. Draco didn't look great when she had seen him less than forty eight hours ago on the Astronomy Tower, and he hadn't even turned up to classes yesterday afterwards.

"Somehow, I highly doubt that," Amora hissed, slamming her book shut and standing up. "Continue having fun in your make-believe world, Greengrass. The sooner you wake up, though, the better."

She didn't wait for Daphne to say anything before swiping up her book and heading for the exit to the Great Hall. Her jaw was clenched, her blood boiling in her body as she put as much distance between her and the other girl as possible.

Who the hell did Daphne Greengrass think she was? Telling Amora that she had lost because she'd broken up with Draco! Amora generally didn't have a problem with Daphne after Draco had kissed his fellow Slytherin, but now she certainly did. She had never really had any problems with other girls before - just Susan and Daphne, she supposed. Oh, Pansy used to get on her nerves sometimes in their first three years at Hogwarts...

Her heart tugged as she thought about Pansy. She changed the direction she was going in from the Hufflepuff common room to the fields outside. November was about to arrive so it was a bit chilly, but Amora knew who she would find perched beneath a certain tree by the greenhouses.

Leon had told her that he used pretty much all of his free periods to sit there and smoke, in case she ever wanted to join him again. And now that her mind was racing and she was thoroughly irritated, she decided to take up his offer. Sure enough, the smell came first, and then she found him.

Perched on one of the roots sticking high out of the ground, Leon was wearing a very Muggle-like coat and his hair was practically covered his eyes as he took a long drag of his blunt. He glanced up upon hearing a twig snap, an easy smile crossing his features when he realised that it was just Amora.

"Thought you would be studying, Miss Prefect," Leon said, silently handing over the joint between his fingers when she sat down beside him, carefully adjusting her school skirt so it didn't ride up her thighs.

"Daphne Greengrass thought she would join me," Amora dismissed him, placing the cigarette between her lips and inhaling briefly. "So I thought I'd come here. Calm down a little bit."

Leon raised a brow. "And why do you have a problem with Greengrass?"

"Well, it was more like she had a problem with me, so then I had to have a problem with her," Amora said briefly, "Trust me, though. She's not high on my list of things to care about. She just tries to get under my skin - and she does, but only because she's annoying, not because I believe her or anything."

"Believe her about what?"

"Oh, she thinks that Draco's going to fall in love with her or something now that we're over. Because she's prettier and smarter and funnier and her family's actually respected in the Pureblood community, apparently." Amora rolled her eyes, handing him the blunt back. "Just a load of rubbish."

"Well maybe they should end up together, then," Leon scoffed absentmindedly.

"What?" Amora snapped, glaring at him so intensely that he jumped.

"Well, I'm just saying they deserve each other. Isn't Malfoy an arsehole, so you broke up with him? And Greengrass is a bitch. So they belong together," Leon shrugged.

Amora's jaw clenched and she could have sworn that she saw red. The idea of Daphne thinking she belonged with Draco was one thing - the idea that other people thought it too was another. She felt sick at the idea, grimacing as the memory of them kissing in front of her came flooding back. She never ever wanted to witness that again as long as she lived.

"No!" She snapped, "No, they don't deserve each other or belong together. Why the fuck would you say that?"

"Jesus, Amora." Leon raised his hands up in defence. "Calm down. Don't take it too personally -"

"No, I will take it personally," Amora cut him off. "Daphne doesn't deserve him. Not one fucking bit. A - And you're just feeding into what she's saying. You're practically agreeing with her!"

"Well, I didn't think you wanted Malfoy back?" He looked at her quizzically. "You said he was an arse and you were going to move on and -"

"So?" Amora retorted. "Doesn't mean Daphne deserves him. Or - Or anybody else for that matter!"

"Oh. I see," Leon realised, a small smirk crossing his features. "You're jealous."

"No," she spat. "Piss off. Just - Just piss off, Leon."

Neither of them said anything for a little while whilst Leon waited for her to calm down. He could visibly see the way that her breaths became more even and slowed, her eyes closing as she tried not to get angry again. Leon continued to take a few more drags until there was nothing left for him to smoke.

"Sorry for saying that about Malfoy and Greengrass," Leon mumbled. "I thought it would be what you wanted to hear. I thought you hated him."

"I don't think I'm capable of hating him," Amora replied quietly, lazy eyes staring down at the dead grass around them. "I love him. More than I've ever loved anybody in my entire life."

"But you're going to try and move on?"

"Hopefully. That's the plan."

She was quiet for a few more moments before she felt him gently grasp her arm, stabilising her on the huge root that they sat on so he could lean across and plant his lips on top of hers. They were unfamiliar and tasted of the weed he had just smoked. Amora's entire body tensed and her eyes shot wide open, pushing him off of her within seconds.

"Leon," Amora cried, shoving his shoulder and standing up. "What the hell was that?"

Leon scratched the back of his neck. "A distraction, I suppose?"

Her face screwed up. "And what on earth made you think that I would want you to kiss me? When have I ever shown romantic interest in you?"

"Well, it's not like I have a crush on you, either," Leon scoffed. "I just thought it would help a bit."

Amora was struggling to understand his thought process, but her own train of thought was cut off by a tiny explosion by the root of the tree that Leon still sat on. She gasped and stepped back as dirt flew up a little, turning her neck to find Draco storming towards them, his wand in his hand.

"Draco -"

Leon began to try and stand up, but Draco headed straight for the brunet boy and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. Pushing him down to the ground, Draco's other hand formed a fist that pummelled into Leon's nose. There was an instant crack that echoed into Amora's ears, making her wince.

"Draco!" Amora cried, "Stop it! What the hell?"

Where had he even come from? He must have seen Amora go and sit with Leon and watched them. Or maybe he had just happened to come out as soon as Leon had leaned in to kiss her.

She reached forwards and grabbed Draco's robes, pulling him off of Leon the best she could. Before he could get a second punch in, Draco registered Amora being right behind him, touching him, and suddenly stopped, his glaring face staring furiously down at the Holloway boy. Blood was splattered across Leon's face, coming out of his nose which was bent at an angle.

"You wanna kiss her again?" Draco yelled, "Try it. Try it again and we'll see what fucking happens -"

"Calm down, mate, calm the fuck down." Leon held his hands up in defence once more. "It didn't even mean anything."

"Then why the fuck did you do it, huh?" Draco spat before Amora grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back again.

"What are you doing, Draco?" Amora cried, "Why are you even here?"

"I warned you, Amora," Draco muttered to her, "I warned you that he would have some sort of ulterior motive. I knew that he always had a thing for you, I knew it."

"I don't have a thing for Amora," Leon protested as he climbed up from the ground. "And I never have. I dated Kathy for over a year, for fuck's sake -"

"Even if he did, it's none of your bloody business," Amora hissed to Draco. "You can't start getting involved with my life now. Not when you ignored me for so long -"

"I need to talk to you," Draco snapped without thinking, his eyes darting over to Leon. "Alone."

Amora's heart began to pound as she seemed to remember the conversation she had had with him and Harry separately only two nights before. She seemed to forget when he appeared that he was most likely a Death Eater, but now it was all she could think about. Her mouth opened but nothing came out. She shifted to look over at Leon, grimacing a bit at the blood covering him.

Leon rolled his eyes. "I get it. Don't worry, I'm gone."

She watched him march away, leaving just her and Draco alone beneath the tree. Amora turned to face him again, a hesitant expression across her face. Again, her eyes darted down to his forearm as if she would be able to see a tattoo through his school robe. Draco was staring right at her face.

"What?" Amora tried to make her voice sound strong, but it came out a little bit weaker than she had intended it to, and she was sure that Draco had seen right through it. He knew her too well.

"Why are you still hanging around him, Amora?" Draco scolded, "You're better than him -"

Amora cut him off roughly. "I don't exactly have many options right now, Draco. I lost a lot of people to be with you - Harry, Hermione, Ron, Neville... Nobody wants to be my friend anymore. Nobody but Kathy, and, well... Now Leon too. And, yeah, I realise it's a bit pathetic, but he's not exactly my friend. It's not like I've forgiven him or anything -"

"Good," Draco butted in, making Amora glare. "Because he's nothing but a pathetic low life -"

"Is this what you wanted to talk to me privately about?" Amora hissed, "Because I don't have the patience for this conversation today. Or any conversation with you, really."

After the whole Daphne thing and then sort of arguing with Leon about it, the last thing she felt like doing was standing there and trying to explain to Draco why he couldn't have a say on her life when he wasn't even supposed to be a part of it anymore.

Draco chewed down on his bottom lip. Amora sat back down on the large root of the tree, resting her chin on her hands and her elbows on her knees as she looked up at him boredly, waiting for him to speak. The blond boy seemed to contemplate his words for a few moments before he looked back at her.

"No. You're right, actually," Draco finally said, "I shouldn't be here. I shouldn't be talking to you right now -"

He turned on his heel, beginning to walk away. Without thinking, Amora jumped up and grabbed his wrist, tugging him back before he could leave. Draco towered over Amora and was double her size - if he wanted to, he could have easily shoved her off or escaped her grasp, but he didn't. He looked down at her, then at her fingers which were holding his wrist. He nearly shivered at her touch - even if it was through the robes he wore.

"Draco Malfoy, you need to start talking," Amora pleaded with him. "I don't care if you don't want me anymore, but you owe me an explanation at the very least."

His eyes began to swim with something. With what, Amora couldn't detect, but she knew he was hurting inside. It filled her with a burning hope that he would finally begin to open up, but then he began to shake his head and he pulled his wrist out of her hand.

"I can't, Amora," Draco replied to her. "You know I can't."

"Then let me talk," she said, "Just let me ask you something."

A flash of fear struck across his face. "No."

"You know what I'm going to ask you, don't you?" Amora whispered, dread lacing her tone.

Draco swallowed thickly. "Don't. Don't ask me it."

The dread consumed her and caused yet more tears to fill her eyes. Draco's eyes widened a little bit, having not expected for her to get emotional, but it was just being confirmed all over again in Amora's head. She moved forwards and grabbed his arm, staring up at him pleadingly.

"Please." Her hand reached up and cupped his cheek. "Draco, don't push me away. This is the last time I'm going to put myself out there for you because I can't keep making a fool of myself by taking you back again and again. Please, Draco. Please."

Draco swallowed fearfully, yet again. He couldn't stop the way his face had changed. Occlumency wasn't working - it seemed to fail sometimes whenever she was near, whenever she put herself out there for him like this and pleaded. He could barely say no to her. Not even when Bellatrix had trained him up all summer. He supposed she was his weakness, as cheesy as that sounded. It was exactly what he had been scared of, too.

"Amora..." Draco tried.

Neither of them said anything for a few moments.

"I'm going to ask you now," Amora whispered, her voice cracking a little bit.

Draco closed his eyes for a few seconds before he nodded. He still didn't open his eyes. Amora sort of preferred it because it meant that she didn't have to make eye contact whilst she asked him the question that they were clearly both dreading. Even though Amora already knew. But she couldn't get her lips to move.

"You said you know," Draco finally spoke as he opened his eyes, unable to handle the silence for much longer. "The other night on the Astronomy Tower. You said you already knew why I had been distancing myself from you. And I think Potter told you... Didn't he?"

Amora still couldn't move her mouth. Couldn't utter a single syllable. He'd confirmed it. Well, he'd confirmed it a dozen times already just by the way he had been acting, but he was really doing it. He was really telling her. And suddenly Amora wished that she had remained ignorant. She never really understood the phrasing 'ignorance is bliss' until now.

"Do you know?" Draco questioned a little more forcefully.

"Maybe," Amora replied in a mere whisper, sounding quite pathetic.

"You can't tell anyone," Draco quickly warned her. "Amora, you cannot say a word."

She felt her knees buckle beneath her as she nearly collapsed to the ground. Draco was quickly moving forwards to hold her arms, guiding her down and kneeling before her with an apprehensive expression. He saw her close her eyes and then tears were glittering on her cheeks, causing him to shut his eyes again too. He thought he might start to cry if he watched her any longer, and he'd done more crying in the past few months than he had in a lifetime, he was pretty sure.

Amora was breathing quite heavily, perhaps on the verge of a panic attack, but she couldn't bring herself to look at him as she stared down at the grassy floor that they were on.

"So it's true?" Amora sniffled.

Draco felt sick as he nodded a little bit. Nobody had said the words 'Death Eater', but they both knew exactly what they were talking about. It felt like a heavy weight on both their chests, or as though all of a sudden the sky had clouded over on them and only them, pouring down icy buckets of rain with no signs of sun.

She didn't know what she was doing when she scrambled forwards and grabbed him, her hands bunching up his expensive blazer and leaking tears onto his shoulder. Draco's hand smoothed her back, his eyes closing. He pulled away after a few moments, their eyes finally meeting again.

"Draco..." Her voice cracked.

"I had to," he said quietly, firmly.

That seemed to make her feel the tiniest bit better, but somehow at the same time worse. Because at least that meant he hadn't been a willing Death Eater.

"Please," she whispered, and she didn't even know exactly what she was asking for. Maybe for all of this to be one huge joke or a nightmare, perhaps for him to just hold her again - and this time for him to not let go until she told him to.

Draco didn't say anything, he offered no comforting words or further explanations. And Amora was full of questions and needs. Her heart was pounding so hard in her chest that she felt like it was about to fall out.

"I'm sorry," Draco blurted, his voice cracking. "I'm so fucking sorry."

Amora quickly realised he was crying and pulled him back into her, so she was surrounded by his larger frame, their limbs tangled together on the cold floor of the empty field. Draco cried softly into her shoulder, his hands shaking as she held him, trying not to start sobbing herself.

"What - What happened?" Amora whispered, smoothing his hair with her hand in a manner that she hoped gave him some sort of comfort.

"He asked me to join him," Draco whimpered against her body. "'Said I would be able to fix the mess my father had made. To restore the Malfoy name. A - And I didn't want to, but I had to Amora. My mother was in the room and she nodded at me and - and I didn't want him to hurt her, or me, or my father... I had to."

Amora brushed his back, hushing him gently. "Okay, it's okay," Amora murmured, her voice as wobbly as before.

"Nothing about this is okay." Draco pulled away from her abruptly, his lip curling as his eyes continued to water. "Nothing, Amora. I'm a Death Eater and you're - you're -"

"A blood traitor?" Amora offered him weakly.

"Fuck." Draco closed his eyes.

"Draco, when - when you said 'fix the mess your father made', what did you mean?" Amora asked regretfully.

He hesitated. "Just... Just have to be here. To report back to him about things Dumbledore gets up to. If he's preparing things. If Potter does anything suspicious."

Amora closed her eyes, her head sinking back onto his shoulder. "Draco," she croaked, and yet again she didn't know what she was asking for. "So you're essentially a spy? What - What kind of information is he even after?"

Draco was quiet for a few seconds. "Just anything that could give him an upper hand on the war," he replied meekly, "He needed someone inside Hogwarts to give him intel."

Amora released another shaky breath, feeling her hands begin to tremble from where they were still holding onto the sleeves of his robes. "You could - We could go to Dumbledore. He'll help you, okay? He'll help -"

"No," Draco said, holding her hand from where it had flung in the air. "We can't go to him. We can't go to anyone about this. The only other people that know are Pansy, Blaise, and Theo."

And Professor Snape, but Amora didn't need to know that. Just like she didn't need to know what his true tasks were. At least not right now. He didn't want to overwhelm her, didn't want to drive her away from him. Maybe it was selfish, but he couldn't physically bring himself to look her in the eye and tell her what he had to do without breaking down again.

"T - They're not Death Eaters too?" Amora asked, and Draco flinched at the title that had now been uttered into the universe between them.

"No," Draco murmured, "Just me. It's a punishment for my parents, I know it."

Amora whimpered quietly, holding onto him a bit tighter. Draco held her back, even though he knew he shouldn't. It felt too right to be wrong to be in her comforting embrace, but he couldn't help feeling like this was setting Amora up for something bad. But she'd worked it out herself. So maybe now the safest option for her was to be with him until the time came where he'd have to get her as far away from Hogwarts as possible.

"What -" Amora paused as she pulled herself away from him, an arm's distance apart. "What about Katie Bell?"

Draco felt like a bucket of cold water had been chucked over him. "What about her?"

"Well, Harry said he thought you had something to do with it..."

"I wasn't even at Hogsmeade that weekend," Draco said, "I had a Saturday detention with McGonagall for not turning in my homework two times in a row."

Amora's brows furrowed, but she felt immediate relief that Draco hadn't been the one to hurt Katie Bell like Harry had suspected. She pursed her lips together.

"So, if your job is to just report back to- to You-Know-Who, then how come you spent so much time away from me? And not turning up to class..." Amora asked worriedly.

She was in disbelief that she was truly having this conversation with Draco right now. She thought she'd have started screaming or would have ran to Dumbledore straight away, desperate to do the morally right thing, but this was still her Draco Malfoy. And somehow, she was sitting here, listening to him talk. Hearing him out. Silently making her judgments.

"I - I've been trying to fix something," Draco admitted quietly.

"Trying to fix something?"

"Yeah. In the Room of Requirement. It's - It's a Vanishing Cabinet," the platinum-haired boy replied hesitantly, waiting for Amora's reaction.

"A Vanishing Cabinet?" She repeated. She knew what they were because they were very commonly used throughout the first wizarding war. Her parents talked about it quite a lot. "Why are you fixing a Vanishing Cabinet?"

There was a moment of silence. "For you."

Amora was taken aback. "For me?"

"Yes." Draco reached to grab her hand and she shivered as their palms connected. "For you. For your mother. So you can get away from Hogwarts if something happens earlier than expected."

"What?" Amora breathed in disbelief.

"It's connected to another one in Borgin and Burkes. It will get the both of you far away from the school, and you can get to the Leaky Cauldron and then out into Muggle London," Draco said, "And you'll be safe."

Amora's expression was somewhere between wonder and confusion. She grasped his hand tighter. "Draco... Do you seriously think I would ever leave you? Or Pansy or Blaise and Theo?"

His jaw clenched a little. "You will need to. When the time comes, Hogwarts won't be safe for Muggle-borns and blood traitors. That means your mother and you too," Draco told her sternly. "I've... I've been thinking ahead. I just don't want anything to happen to you."

Amora nearly began to cry again. This whole time she had thought he just didn't care about her. She flung her arms around his neck and buried her face into him. Draco held her back after a couple of seconds, exhaling loudly.

"I don't know what to say," Amora admitted once she pulled away. "About any of this."

"Do you still hate me?" Draco asked.

Amora's eyes flickered down to her lap. "You bloody well know I never hated you, you idiot."

"Well, you were angry enough to rip the necklace off," he said softly, his hand diving into his pocket and pulling it back out where the ring had now been slipped onto the chain. "If you never hated me, it was a pretty convincing act."

He watched the way her eyes softened at the jewellery sprawled out in his large palm. "Will you wear it again?" He asked.

Amora hesitated. "Will you stop pushing me away?" She asked him gently. "I kind of need you right now. And I think you might need me too."

"I didn't think you'd want me," Draco said. "I'm a Death Eater, Amora."

She tried to hide her shudder. "I - I -" Amora scratched the back of her neck nervously. "I'm not saying I'm okay with it, or that I'll ever help you with your spying on Harry and Dumbledore, but I'm ridiculously in love with you, Draco... And you were forced. I can't... I can't just let you suffer on your own."

Draco tried to fight off the tiny smile tugging at the corners of his lips. It was out of utter relief. Relief that she wasn't running away from him and looking at him in a completely new light. One where he was some sort of evil monster.

Amora planted her face into her hands and shook her head. "But it's messed up. Draco, what you've unwillingly become... It's everything I can't condone. Everything I've ever been against."

Draco's small smile quickly faded. "You can't be with me," he realised breathily.

"I want to," Amora choked, "I want to kiss you and hold your hand and tell you how much I love you everyday. But... But what does that make me? Doesn't that mean I've picked my side in this war? That I'm..." She grimaced. "Siding with You-Know-Who?"

"No," Draco said instantly, one of his hands flying to cup her face. "Amora, you're the most open minded person I know. I don't know anybody in this school who loves as easily and wholeheartedly as you. I get it if you can't be with me - I actually fucking get it this time. Whether you want to still be with me or not... I - I'll do my best to understand."

Amora closed her eyes for a few seconds. "Please. Please can I have some time to think about it?"

Draco felt his heart stop. Part of him had been expecting her to instantly tell him that she would stay or that she would leave. He hadn't been expecting to have to wait for an answer. Maybe one of the most important answers of his life, too. He didn't want to wait, dammit he wanted to know now, but he found himself nodding a little.

"Yes," Draco whispered, his breath mingling with hers. "Take all the time you need."

Her brown eyes flickered down to his lips, suddenly realising the close proximity between them both. Draco looked down at her lips too. Her hands peeled from his shoulders and she blinked, pulling further back from him before they could both start to lean in.

"Thank you," she murmured and he stroked the skin beneath his thumb before she stood and walked away from him, leaving him alone beneath the tree.

...

oof!! sorry if you expected amora to instantly side with him :(( hopefully you get where she's coming from. also draco's a big fat liar but he knows if amora knew the truth then he would be putting her right in the middle of it. SO CONFLICTING but yah hope you enjoyed?? and leon's a confusing arsehole lmao

OH AND I POSTED ALL OF MY DRACO MALFOY SMUTS ON WATTPAD FOR EVERYBODY THAT PREFERS TO READ OVER HERE RATHER THAN ON TUMBLR. THE BOOK'S CALLED 'SHAMPAIN'. CHECK IT OUT IF YOU FANCY SOME SMUT AND ARE 18+ <33

thanks for reading! <33

word count: 5.2k

dyiansobrien.