The Truth

Danny paused for a moment at her question, his mind still a little uneasy about revealing this information. He was tempted to lie and say it was an accident, but he figured it'd be best if he would just tell her the truth. So the hard part came to him now with a sigh. "I've been involved in a lot of fighting," he said uneasily "I've killed many Death Eaters in my youth, hell, I've killed so many magical creatures you'd be surprised...but I've also killed Aurors. Ironic, isn't it? That I become an auror after I killed a few. Which actually brings me to my next point, I labeled myself dead for two years when a group of rouge Aurors attacked me. I was off guard, and I managed to escape with my life. I only returned recently to pick up the shattered remains of what used to be my life."

The hard part was over at least. She knew some of the truth, only revealing to her about half of his life in a nutshell. He gripped his right hand into a fist and continued "I had or still have a price on my head. Death Eaters want me dead and I'm sure the Ministry will figure out soon enough that I'm a rouge killer...strange how they haven't figured that out yet, but I digress. I would be considered a serial killer if I had been killing civilians...which I had never done!" He finally finished his story, leaning all of his weight onto the sofa, staring up at the ceiling as he tried to mix together his thoughts. "I'm not innocent or guilty. I know what I've done, and that is written in stone. I'm trying to move on though...it's all I can do."

Julia shifted in her seat, trying to process everything that he just told her. She didn't judge him, and she didn't think of him any differently than before. "Well that's... interesting." She said, straightening herself up. "But, I don't judge you or anything. And I suppose moving on would be the best for your situation, like you said." She could get used to him, but the Death Eaters following him would be difficult, considering they would also eventually be on her back for leaving them. At a first glance, people would see Julia as this fragile, innocent girl. But honestly, Julia had bad intentions as well. She lead the Dark Followers when she was in school, and she was involved in the Death Eaters for some time after graduation. Actually, she was technically still a Death Eater, but she hadn't gone to a meeting in a long time.

"Don't worry about anything, no one is innocent in this world." Julia said, honestly. His expression was unreadable, but she was sure it must have been hard to explain all of that to someone. She felt the need to soothe him, though he may not have even needed it, she couldn't tell. "I was a Death Eater- well, I still am, technically. But I was considering leaving them. But I know that wouldn't be good. I'm not innocent, either. I've tortured people, and hurt them. Sometimes to people who didn't do anything wrong, but I grew up around Death Eaters, so it was expected of me to do those things." She confessed. It wasn't as bad as Danny's secret, but she felt that he should know about her past as well.

"So, I understand where you're coming from, and there's a reason for everything. I don't believe that you did those things just because. I'm still here for you" Julia said honestly.

Danny immediately grow cold once at one mentioning. She was a Death Eater? He quickly moved both of his hands to his face, attempting to rub every detail from the lines that created it. This would be a fun Order meeting if the other members found out...but it would prove useful. Perhaps...no, he couldn't use her like that. Well, he wouldn't bring it up right now, at least she said she was recovering from all of that. "I guess you're dating your rival then," he said, throwing his hands back down to his side "I'm an Order member...I'm supposed to be killing you guys." Killing was a harsh word, the Order supposed to be the police force instead of the criminal. He leaned back forward again, this time his gaze going back to Julia.

"Trust me when I say that I've killed a lot of people...at least 20...was it twenty? Yeah, it was about twenty. I've also killed dragons, giants, and magical squids, so I'm actually going to consider that murders as well. Ehh, I've lived a fun life." He looked back down to his feet. "I guess all I'm trying to say is, I'm a wanted man and people will be looking for me. I don't know when it could happen, but it's bound to happen at some point." What really interested him though was her status as an 'ex-Death Eater'. This could be the break the order needed, they had to have someone on the inside...who was already inside! He would offer that plan to her later, maybe she would end up fighting for the good guys this time around.

Julia felt a bit nervous at Danny's reaction at first. She wasn't aware that Danny was an Order member, not that it made much of a difference to her, but it would eventually become a problem. She nearly winced at the word "kill" in the way that he had used it. It was true, they were supposed to be rivals, and now knowing that fact, they weren't. Nothing had changed between them, not for Julia, at least. And she was fairly sure that nothing changed for Danny, either. She giggled at how Danny seemed to brag about how many people he killed. He seemed so laid back about it, like it was no big deal. And Julia liked that about him.

"Well," She began, "I'll be here with you. You're still the same person to me" Julia shrugged. She was being sincere, and she would help him with all of her power to make sure he wasn't found. She could even run away with him, though it may have been too early to be thinking of that, but she didn't want to see him at the hands of the Death Eaters. And if Julia did decide to leave the Death Eaters, she would have to be on the run, too. It's like they would be convicts together, and Julia smiled at the thought.

She scooted closer to Danny until their knees were touching, and rested her hand on his thigh. She wanted to move on from the subject, because she didn't like thinking of the future like that. Julia lived in the moment and let the future come at her. She rested her chin on his shoulder and ran her fingers up and down his arm, hoping it would distract him from the subject.

He knew Julia had been trying to comfort him, but it wasn't working that much. He still felt uneasy about the whole situation, his mind still cautious about the whole situation. It seemed like she wasn't taking it as seriously as he was, him knowing the full extent of what the Death Eaters could do. If they ever did find out, if they were dating or not, they would more than likely end her life, probably try and end his as well. He wasn't that selfish, but having a threat of someone beating down your door to kill you didn't settle too well inside of him. He pushed her away gently, not being forceful at all and stood up. "Look," he said "we gotta be careful about this. Chances are, if your other colleagues ever found out, they would have our heads on a platter."

He was acting way out of character, worrying being the last thing Danny would ever do. He had no clue as to what that reason was, but he just didn't want to provoke another large scale war in the streets of London. Christ, if Romeo and Juliet's death caused an entire feud to be called out, who says it couldn't work the same in a parallel universe? Okay, he thought to himself now you are just thinking crazy. He sighed out of irritation towards himself and sat down near Julia, his arms slouched near his knees. "I guess I'm worrying too much," he said finally "uhh...it won't be that much of a problem I assume, but it's not everyday when you meet someone who used to be part of an evil organization"

Julia sighed and put her head in her hands. She never dealt well with bad news or issues, she had always done a good job of blocking painful things from her mind for the minute. She didn't want to talk about the subject any further, but she knew it was important to Danny, so she listened to him more. "I know they will, but they're gonna come after me either way, and the same for you. So what does it matter if they have more reasons to do it?" She wasn't sure if her logic made sense to him, but it made sense to her. Even if the Death Eaters found out about her relationship with an Order member, they would still find out about her attempting to leave them in the dust.

And so what if they were intimate when they were alone, they were just that, alone. No one would find out unless they told anyone. No matter what they did, they were screwed, basically. "And it's not everyday you find an ex-murderer, but I don't mind it, either. You're just looking out for yourself, and me, too. But honestly, I don't care anymore. I've spent too much of my life worrying about the future and what would happen if I did anything out of line. But now, I figure have as much fun as you can, because one day, you won't have anything." Julia hoped Danny wouldn't get upset at her, but it's the way she saw things. "But, this isn't just about me. This is about you, too. And I'll be careful for you." She promised.

Danny shook his head slightly, wanting to retort with another dangerous ultimatum, but knowing it would be futile. Out of anyone in the world, he had to pick the one woman who could kill him and he wouldn't even notice. Yet in a way, he knew she could never do that, her personality showing different signs than just being some kind of serial killer. Her earlier explanation of what she had done didn't really soothe his conflicting thoughts, but then again, she was doing the same for him. He was a killer after all, and not most people looked up to that sort of thing. He sighed, mostly out of defeat, and said "Well, I guess you're right. Chances of them knowing are slim, but can't the Dark Marking read your mind or something?"

He had an earlier experience with that sort of magic, his old rival being forced to attack him when he fought Voldemort. It was a harrowing thought, but he needed to know in case anything were to happen. "I know a little about the Dark Marking," he said, pointing his finger to her arm. He couldn't actually see anything, but since she was technically still a Death Eater, it had to be on her still. "And so far, I've come to realize that the Leader can literally implant thoughts into the wearer's head and possibly even be stricken with pain. I need to know that this won't affect you at all."

Julia had never really considered her Dark Mark to be a problem, but with the way that he explained it, she had to take a few mental steps back. "Well that's the thing," She explained, "after a while, you begin to 'watch' your thoughts, you really take caution in what you think about. Well, I do. Like when I think of people, I try not to think of their names or faces. It's hard at first, but then it gets easier. And if I do have to think of their names, it's always their first name, never their last. You never know if people are going to get hurt on your account, so you subconsciously protect them.

"So, I don't think it will, I've never really felt anything, so if I watch what I think about, I'm sure I'll be fine." Julia reassured him, "I'm sure we'll both be fine." If she thought that their relationship would cause any more problems than they originally thought, she would have mentioned it. But she honestly was sure they would be able to keep their relationship a secret for as long as they needed. "Don't worry, we can deal with this" The more she thought about it, the more she felt bad. They just started dating, they shouldn't be having these problems so early on. "I'm sorry, I'm just messing everything up"

He still felt a little wary in his mind about all these possibilities, but then again, he was never one to second guess his choices. He turned around for a moment, his eyes closed tightly as he tried to think of some other complaint off his list. The issue with the Dark Mark had been a big one, but he trusted her when she said she had it under control. He had no other reason to suspect she was lying to him, everything she had pointed out sounded sincere to him, he had no reason to suspect. With a soft sigh, he turned back around and nodded his head slightly. "Alright," he said calmly, the tone of his voice solid and blank "I wouldn't risk anything though. From what I've heard, the Death Eaters are just getting more viscous by the second...well, scratch that, I know how viscous that can be. But I imagine them being locked in a cage for a long time, they're going to explode at some point...I just don't know when."

He walked back over to the couch and sat with a slight thump to the sofa, his seemingly neutral stare formed into a friendly smile. He said "Well, I suppose thing will be alright for now. We might as well watch our backs though, I'm not sure as to who could be watching." He thought of the Order for a second, curious about what they're reaction could be like. He then thought back to the meeting and realized they probably wouldn't care either way. They seemed more interested in other things at that moment, whatever he did possibly not even making a ripple in that large wave. Yeah, whatever, this would worth it for now. "Now that our darkest secrets are exposed," he said "I figure I should take you out for that movie now."