By My Side

Chapter 15

Just as Eve and Draco were sharing a heated, parting kiss in the early hours of New Years morning, Lucius Malfoy was hundreds of miles away, seething in his study, unable to sleep.

During the course of the Ball, several things had angered him.

The first was that the old fool Dumbledore had kept him talking for hours - time that could have been spent liasonning with the other Governors - finding out what he had missed in his long spell of absence. He could also have been familiarising himself with the idol gossip of the lesser staff at Hogwarts, finding out weakness and strengths that would have been vital information for his Lord.

The second was the belittled grim of dirt he had been made to feel when talked down to by the werewolf's child. People like her sickened Lucius - vermin, should be wiped off the earth, just like her father and all the do-gooders that supported him, keeping him in a position of power that could be filled by someone more accepting to 'the cause'. Either that, or wipe out the whole ridiculous subject altogether - Hogwarts would be a much better school if it took a few lessons from Durmstrang.

Finally, there was the problem of his first born. His only son and Heir - Draco.

What Draco didn't know was that Lucius had spent a small portion of the evening chatting with a certain Gregory Goyle. Goyle was, like his father, unwittingly shrewd. Lucius knew this, although for pretence, the family generally displayed an air of stupidity, of course, associating themselves with the like of the Crabbe family made their quest for anonymity so much easier. Greg Goyle senior was amongst Voldemort's favourites, simply because of the connections he made via this act of dumbness. People trust those they feel superior to, people they know (or at least think) they can dictate to.

So, having found that Greg Goyle junior was as stead-fast as his father, Lucius had made sure he kept a swift eye on him, and then followed him when he left the Great Hall. The information Lucius had pilfered from the young boy was both extremely angering and deeply worrying. It seemed Draco's behaviour was becoming a mockery amongst his housemates, and from the conversation with this soon-to-be Death Eater, Lucius Malfoy learned that the high estimation his family was usually held in was in steep decline - all because his son and namesake, Draco Lucius Malfoy, was being careless and, in the words of Goyle, "preoccupied".

Lucius also heard from Goyle that Draco was treating Pansy badly. He was known to have hexed her that very evening, only to be found by a lost first year boy on his way to his dormitory. Goyle himself had to help bring Pansy round.

Lucius decided it was time for some serious action.

*******

Draco filed down to breakfast, being talked at by Crabbe, telling him precisely what colour his vomit had been that morning after some contraband Butterbooze. Apparently, the bottles had been tampered with, and Crabbe thought it tasted funny at the time. Draco merely scoffed, glad his intellect was still intact after 15 years of knowing this boy.

Entering the Great Hall, Draco's eyes flipped instantly to the Gryffindor table, where Eve and the Mudblood were bent over a large looking book - Draco couldn't see the title. Potter and the Weasel were sitting near-by, and if Draco wasn't sorely mistaken, the ginger-winger had his hand entwined with the big-teethed, bushy haired girl as they sat across the table. Draco almost laughed out loud at the non-ending joke that would be their relationship, and made a mental note to ask Eve about it later.

Sitting down, he cast his eyes back to Eve, who was wearing a baby-blue fluffy woollen jumper that hugged her figure neatly and contrasted nicely with the colour of her hair. Draco was just admiring her more than ample chest when Crabbe knocked his arm.

He reluctantly tore his gaze away.

"What?"

"Blaise wants you," Vincent said through a mouthful of toast. Draco's eyes flickered to where Crabbe nodded, and saw Zabini lingering by the door, hair in tiny bunches, eyes wide and looking slightly frightened.

Draco left the table without thanking Crabbe, and frowned as he walked over to Blaise. She instantly tugged at his sleeve and pulled his out into the corridor. She had such a strong pull and stopped and turned so abruptly that Draco ran into her, accidentally ending up pressed against her, her back to the wall.

It was this second that Goyle chose to appear, and what he saw looked rather more suspicious than it was.

"Well, well, Draco," he said slyly, "so this is who you've been seeing. Go for dykes now do you?"

"Fuck off, Goyle," Draco moved away from Blaise so quick that any other girl would have been offended.

"I guess I can put Pansy out of her misery now - let her know who your mystery woman is," then Gregory chuckled deeply, "or should I say......man?"

With that, he disappeared into the Great Hall, amongst the noisy chatter of happy voices and clatter of cutlery.

"Stupid dickhead," Draco snarled, not sure whether he meant himself or Goyle.

"Forget that," Blaise said weakly, "it's what he was doing last night that should be worrying you."

"Is this why you got me out here, Zabini? to fill me in on Goyle's sleeping arrangements?" Draco spat angrily. A second later he regretted it.

"There's no need to speak to me like that, Malfoy, I'm trying to help you here, as you quite obviously need it!"

"I know! I know!" Draco held up his hands in tiny surrender, edging the girl slightly further from the breakfast room and more into the shadows. "I'm just a bit short tempered at the moment, ignore me. Sorry, what did you want to say?"

Blaise looked like she'd rather make love to Hagrid than answer, but she shook her head and tried to remember why she even helped this insolent dolt in the first place. She took enough bullying without being the ally of new Slytherin Enemy Number One.

"Last night, Greg, he was speaking to your father. I went out for some fresh air and heard then talking about you in the garden. Appears our friend there was slipping the shit over you cursing Pansy yesterday. Your dad seemed pretty furious."

"Fuck!" Draco swore, hands going to his face, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

"I thought I told you to keep a low profile!" Blaise hissed, eyes darting to the door of the Great Hall, where some Ravenclaw students were leaving, laughing with one another.

"I am! I was.....I was trying!" Draco protested.

"I don't know what you're playing at, Malfoy! your father's a bloody formidable character, we both know that. What are you planning to do? get yourself killed before you reach 16?"

"Of course bloody not!" Draco growled, his voice low and powerful in the tense atmosphere. In a flash, Blaise saw all this boy could be. She was an observer - she saw most people and how they functioned. She watched the Hufflepuffs, knew how they worked, she watched the Gryffindors, saw how they worked, watched the Ravenclaws and knew how they worked. Of course, she watched those in her own house too and knew most of the characters off by heart, but this one....... he was a tricky customer. He wasn't simple to work out and at times, like just now, she could see him standing before Voldemort, Dark Mark burning fresh on that alabaster skin, pledging his life to the dark forces of magic. However, merely seconds later, she could see him tame, almost scared, like a little tiger locked in a cage.

Out of everyone she knew - everyone she watched - Draco scared her the most.

"Just watch it, right?" Blaise urged, slipping away from the confines of her close encounter with Draco. She looked both ways before disappearing in the direction of the library and Draco's brain vaguely questioned whether she even ate - he rarely saw her.

Focusing back on the problem in hand, Draco's stomach dropped violently as he heard the rustle and fluttering on many owl wings - post was here.

Almost knowing what he would see before he saw it, Draco turned and looked to the air just above his usual Slytherin table seat.

Circling like a vulture, was his father's eagle owl.

He crossed unsteadily to where he normally sat, unaware of Eve's eyes on him. The owl dropped the letter as soon as he held out his hand, and within seconds, the dark, ominous looking bird had disappeared into the sky again.

Breakfast no longer interesting him, Draco turned back to the door and proceeded to leave. He didn't even turn when he heard Crabbe calling him.

Outside in the relative cool of the corridor, he looked down at the pristine parchment envelope in his grasp, Malfoy family emblem embezzled clearly over the opening. Draco noticed his hands were shaking with fear and scolded himself. It's just a letter, he thought, it can't hurt you, stop being such a big baby!

"Draco?"

He turned to find Eve, face flushed from the warmth of the Great Hall and her winter outfit. It was only then he realised how far down the corridor he had made it - he was almost by the entrance to the dungeons.

Seeing Eve standing there, almost angelic in her cherubic outfit, Draco wanted to cling to her like the weak soul he felt he was at the moment.

"Are you alright?" Eve asked, touching his arm tentatively, seemingly careless of anyone else appearing.

"No - letter, from Lucius," Draco managed to speak. His mouth was suddenly as dry as sand. His hands were shaking more at the sight of her. She was so close to saving him, yet so far.

"Here, let me," Eve smiled a tiny smile, checking around them then taking the letter from her boyfriend's delicate hands and tugging at the seal. She had the parchment out in no time, her eyes scanning it.

She handed it to Draco, as pale as him now, and Draco didn't know if it was the temperature, or whether the news was that bad.

He took the parchment from her and read it quickly - it was only small, as so many deadly things are :-

I'm coming to school. Meet me on the edge of the forest at six o'clock.

Do NOT be late,

your father

"Shit," Draco panicked.

"Look, stay calm," Eve soothed, eyes nervously looking behind her once more. "It can't be that bad - he's got nothing on you."

"He has," Draco urged, eyes wide as fearful as Eve had ever seen them. "He was talking to Goyle last night. He knows everything, about me hexing Pansy, about me wandering off, being preoccupied - everything."

"He can't prove anything," Eve urged, finally letting her hand brush with her lover's. "Don't worry, just act casual, and 'deny everything', remember?"

Draco nodded absently - he could only feel the burning heat of her fingers on his skin and he thought he might die from being in this place that was in-between intense pleasure and extreme pain.

"Write to me when you get back, okay? let me know how it went."

With that, Eve retraced her earlier steps along the corridor and soon was gone from Draco's vision.

He looked down at the parchment and felt sick - very sick. What would this mean? surely his father wouldn't carry out the threat he made merely days ago at Christmas - make him go to his initiation early, wear the Dark Mark for his birthday? No! surely he wouldn't do that - the risk was to high, being in school with such a thing. But then......Durmstrang - another Damacleasian sword which hung over him. Lucius had been threatening to change his school choice since he was eleven. He might just send him to initiation and then to Durmstrang.

Draco felt a desperate knawing at the bottom of his stomach when he realised that would mean being without Eve - without seeing her every day, touching her skin and feeling her incessant lips on his.

He thought he might be sick, so he went outside and breathed deeply. He was no longer loosing it - it was gone. Some time between his getting together with Eve and now, he had lost his will to control his emotions. Feelings were suddenly flowing through him unfettered, and it took him the best part of an hour before he had steeled himself enough to go back in an face the rest of the day.

******

"I'm not joking!" Ron laughed, "he was left sitting in a pile of custard - I promise!"

Hermione wiped a lone tear from her eye in laughter.

"Your brothers are so funny," she shook her head.

"Yeah, well, that's the twins for you," Ron said with a hint of bitterness, taking up his girlfriend's hand as they strolled towards Hagrid's hut.

"They're not as quite as funny as you, though," Hermione smiled, squeezing Ron's hand.

"What d'you mean?" Ron frowned. "Are you trying to say I'm - "

"No!" she replied exasperatedly, "I'm not trying to say anything bad - I was simply telling you that I think you're funny. Don't be so defensive!"

At this, she closed the gap between herself and the ginger boy. He broke their hand link and wrapped his arm around her shoulder instead. It was still all new to him, this relationship stuff, and although he had plenty of hugs from his mum and his dad, he didn't really know what girls liked you to do. Part of him was afraid that if he got something wrong with Hermione, she would hex into something small, green and slimy that lives in the Lake, either that or detention with Filch - she was a prefect afterall.

"You think Harry's okay with what's happened?" Hermione asked with a thoughtful tone a few moments later.

"Us, you mean?"

"Yeah, I just don't want him to feel left out."

"I'm sure he doesn't," Ron answered, remembering how pleased Harry had been for him when he told him how he'd plucked up the courage and kissed their mutual friend. "He has Eve for company remember."

"Yeah, but how would you feel if Harry and I started dating?" Hermione asked, lifting her head to gaze at Ron, who was a good few feet taller than her now. She held the hand that was around her shoulder with hers, fingers laced like they had never been anything else.

"Why? you don't fancy Harry, do you?" Ron frowned.

"No silly!" Hermione laughed, knocking herself against him in jest, which sent a jolt of pleasure through Ron. "I just mean - you'd feel left out, wouldn't you? as we've been such good friends for so long."

"Hmm, I guess," Ron frowned, "but I'll be honest with you Herm, I don't think boys think about that kind of stuff as much as girls do."

"You never say?" Hermione muttered with a sarcastic smile to herself, eyes casting over the vast Hogwarts grounds.

"What?" Ron asked, bending slightly to hear her voice that had carried on the wind.

"I said 'You're probably right'," Hermione grinned, returning her gaze to the boy by her side.

"Best not worry your head about him Herm," Ron nodded, then couldn't help but ruffle Hermione's hair with his free hand. She looked rather cute, to him. "Harry's a big boy now, and besides, something tells me Harry might have his own girlfriend pretty soon anyway."

"Oh yeah?" Hermione smiled, "and how would you know that?"

"Ah, you forget I'm great at Divination - I've seen it in my crystal ball," Ron answered smugly. Hermione laughed again, and he was glad of the sound.

"We'll see," Hermione concluded as they reached the door of the half-giant's home. She knocked loudly, as Ron stole a peck on the cheek.

"Any chance of another kiss, later?" he whispered boldly in her ear.

Hermione's only answer was a wicked grin, just before Hagrid greeted them.

*******

The day dragged almost as much for Eve as it did for Draco. The dark haired Gryffindor girl was mentally scolding herself for ever having angered Lucius Malfoy - she should have left things well alone - if what she had said made Draco's position any worse then she would hate herself forever. She couldn't stand to think she was the cause of his pain.

As the day wore on as normal for most people, Eve wandered about the castle aimlessly. Several times she had to stop herself walking in the direction of the dungeons, and eventually only felt safe when she arrived at the DADA classroom, which she found mercilessly locked. Her father must have been in his room in the staff quarters, but she didn't really trust herself to go there. In the mood she was in, she felt as though she might give everything away - admit all her fears in an effort to get someone more powerful then her, like her dad, to go and save Draco from the wrath of his father. Remus usually solved most problems for Eve, but she was slowly learning there were some things no one could protect her from - which she guessed was just growing up.

Just outside the library, Eve met Harry, Seamus and Dean, who had been researching some ghastly beasts for Hagrid's latest Care Of Magical Creatures class. When they offered her to join them for a little fly-around, Eve declined.

"You two go on ahead," Harry told them, "I'll be there in a minute."

Eve smiled politely at Harry, trying to hide her nerves as Seamus and Dean left them alone together.

"You all right?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Eve nodded, "just going to see dad."

"Ah, I thought maybe you were missing Hermione, you know, hanging around the library."

Eve chuckled softly.

"No, but if I ever start doing that, please take me to Madame Pomfrey."

"I will," Harry smiled. "Sure you don't want to join us outside?"

"Yeah," Eve nodded, "it's too cold, and besides, you know how I am on a broom."

"I'll help you," Harry offered.

"No, don't worry about me, go and have fun. I'll see my dad and by the time I get back to the common room, Hermione will be back from her walk with Ron."

"Okay," Harry said reluctantly. "I can stay with you if you want, though?"

"Honest, I'm okay," Eve smiled.

"Right, see you later then," Harry took it upon himself to brush his hand next to Eve's, to which she tried to hide her surprise.

As Harry walked away, this left her thinking. She felt so much different to the person who had walked through those front doors of Hogwarts for the first time months ago. She had been so excited at starting a new school, she'd been a bundle of nerves. She was now, of course, but for very different reasons. She wondered that if she'd have known what was to come, whether she'd have been so excited on her first day. In one sense she had found something in this school which was beyond her wildest dreams - Draco, and his love for her which she felt secure in, safe and warm, but then she'd changed so much, and she liked who she used to be.

Eve found herself outside the staff wing, and decided to spend the entire afternoon with her dad. Although she wouldn't tell him what was going on, they could chat or play exploding snap, which always took her mind of things.

*******

Seconds after Harry left Eve outside the library, he turned the corner which lead to the Quidditch changing rooms and ran headlong into Malfoy.

"Watch where you're bloody going, Malfoy!" Harry scowled, rubbing his arm.

"Oh, push off Potter, I'm not in the mood," Draco grumbled, attempting to move around Harry. Hands dug deep into his pockets, Draco lifted his head and glared at Harry when he blocked his path. "I said, 'push off', Potter, didn't you hear me?"

"Have fun last night?" Harry asked, trying to keep his voice light, but all the while thinking that he had to stall Malfoy long enough so that when he turned the corner, Eve was no longer outside the library. Harry felt defensive of Eve, and after Malfoy's little act during the 'Excuse Me' dance last night, Harry felt Eve was too tired today to deal with any teasing Malfoy might throw at her.

"What's it to you, Potter? now just get out of my way, will you?"

To Draco, it felt like everyone was against him. Granted, this boy was usually against him, but he had been wandering around the school all morning with the hope of bumping into Eve, but she was nowhere to be found. It was extremely frustrating that the boy who was now giving him a death glare probably knew exactly where she was, yet he couldn't ask.

"Thought you played a nice little trick last night, excusing the dance with Eve, well let me tell you Malfoy, I'm keeping an eye on you - you might scare Eve, but you don't scare me."

This made Draco's blood boil - who was Harry stupid Potter to tell him how he made Eve feel? he didn't know the half of it!

"You think you know everything about your stupid little Gryffindor friends, don't you Potter? Maybe you should take a step back and get a clearer look at the picture - then I might respect what you say!"

With a push at Harry's chest, Malfoy resumed his walk, and Harry watched him go, speechless. He only hoped Eve had moved away and didn't catch Malfoy's wrath. But something had been different with him today - darker. Darker than last night even. Harry shuddered to think what the slimy toad must be up to - what he must be plotting down there in the dungeons with his little group of close knit friends, networking back to his faithful father. Yes, thought Harry, I bet it was Lucius himself who set that dance up last night, as a warning sign to the school - how close the Death Eaters are in our midst. Well, I hope Malfoy and his father got a good laugh out of it, because I won't let it happen again.

Harry scowled to himself and moved onward, to find Dean and Seamus, who must be looking for him by now.

********

So it was that Draco missed Eve literally by a few moments. If Harry hadn't held him up, the couple would have met, and could have gone somewhere for a much-needed talk. It was only in each other they could find comfort these days - no one else was woven so tightly into their story that they knew everything that was going on. The second that their paths crossed that first day in Snape's potions dungeon, two very different worlds became one, and thus harboured not only the existing problems from each side, but created, new fresh problems.

It was these that Draco was mulling over as he left Harry, yet he didn't have a loving parent to talk to, like Eve did.

The time was half four when he eventually arrived back in his dormitory, and he passed Blaise Zabini with a smile as she sat in a corner, crunched up on an old armchair reading a copy of the Daily Prophet. Pansy was sat playing with Greg Goyle's hair, giggling madly like a schoolgirl until she spotted Draco, and stopped - scowling at first, then giving a little wave.

Draco ignored her - it was her and that ugly monster beside her that had caused all this problem. He had set out on a walk this morning trying to decide what he could possibly say to his father that would pour oil on the troubled waters, but everything he thought of sounded useless, and very often, guilty.

There was no use hiding it - he had to admit to something. If his father thought he had extracted some sort of guilty plea out of Draco, then his sentence would definitely be lighter.

Seeing Pansy there, Draco decided he would try to talk rationally with Lucius about how much he hated Pansy. He hoped he could appeal to his father's softer side (if he had one) and try to get on some kind of level with him where he could make him see that right at the moment - he just wasn't interested in Pansy.

Of course, that then led to the question about what he could be possibly doing with all this free time then, and the circle of thought in Draco's head began to spin again. He couldn't admit one thing without admitting the whole lot - which he definitely would not do.

Draco made it into his room and went to the mirror. He had to do something with his hair - something stupid like looking wrong would set Lucius's temper off even more, Draco knew from past experience. He was grateful that the meeting was at Hogwarts though. at least here his father couldn't hit him or do any physical damage. Yes, there were going to be threats and probably some dire promises made, but Draco knew he could get through anything Lucius lined up for him - as long as Eve was on the other side of it.

********

Eventually, six o'clock came, and Draco was five minutes early. Promptness was one of the things his father had always tried to instil in him, and he was glad that there was no one about. In the mood Draco was in, he figured anyone that tried to get in his way would be hexed pretty badly, and that could only lead to more trouble.

As it was only the first day of January, the sun set early, at around half four or five o'clock, so by the time Lucius met his son, it was pitch black. They were both covered head to toe in black, acting as a stand-in for an invisibility cloak or charm.

Lucius looked menacing enough without donning his Death Eater garb, Draco thought as the figure swept graciously towards him through the night. They were alike in many ways, Draco observed, especially mannerisms. As a child Draco had respected and loved his father so much he had tried in every way to be like him. Now, just as he had realised he didn't want to be like him, wanted to rebel away from everything he was, he couldn't get rid of the things that chained him to his father most.

"Draco," Lucius drawled softly.

"Father," Draco nodded.

"Come with me, we must not be seen."

Lucius led the two of them a little way into the forest, and Draco felt his nerves creep up on him - he hated this place, ever since first year. It was something he associated with Hagrid and the goody-goodies of Gryffindor. Personally, he hated the place.

They stopped in a little clearing, part the way in, and Lucius spoke looking towards the castle, Draco behind he so that neither could see one another's face.

"I'm sorely disappointed, Draco. It seems that the warning I gave you over Christmas has not been taken on board by yourself."

"Father, I - "

"Do not interrupt me," Lucius hissed, and Draco closed his mouth, eyes on the bark-strewn floor. "You are letting your mother and I down with your constant failures. You are a poor excuse for a son and when I try my hardest to warn you, to redeem you, you take my second chance and throw it back in my face."

Draco wanted to shout out with rage, and balled his hands into fists by his sides.

"You leave me no option but to take action. I warned you only a week ago that I have the power to both send you to our Lord and to keep you from him until after your Graduation from this mockery of a school. I have been sorely tempted to simply move you to Durmstrang, yet your mother - " Lucius spat out the word 'mother', showing his dislike and contempt for his wife, which made Draco even more angry, yet still helpless, " - insists that she does not want you so far away. I have also considered bringing forward the date of your initiation into our circle, but I fear even that would not solve the problem in hand. Hence, I have come up with a solution that will put an end to the problem forthwith."

Draco breathed a huge sigh of relief, anger flooding him from him. Suddenly, he felt like smiling. There was nothing Lucius could do that was worse than send him away or renege on the promises concerning his initiation - was there?

Now Lucius turned to face him, and Draco raised his eyes slightly at the little rustle of the forest floor being disturbed. Lucius was in front of him, much closer, eyes boring into his. Draco would not back down - he was strong too. He wasn't just a kid anymore - he had his own life. He must think of Eve now.

"That wench Gaynor Parkinson has been on my back," Lucius's tone was as cold as death, and Draco could almost feel the hatred this man had for him. It wasn't natural, but then it wasn't exactly news to Draco these days either. "You have been upsetting her daughter - the girl who, whether you like it or not, will one day be a part of the Malfoy dynasty. Your link with the Parkinson girl was formulated before you were born - it is not something you can shake off, even though it is clear this it what you have been trying to do. I do not wish to know why you have been trying to rid yourself of your commitments, all I know is that this 'reluctance' you have, will cease from today."

Lucius turned away sharply and began pacing slowly in front of Draco, as though parading his importance.

"It was originally intended that your engagement to Miss Parkinson would be announced on your eighteenth birthday, proceeding a year long courtship. However, as you have abused the privilege of time that I granted you, this liberty will now be taken away from you."

Lucius stopped and fixed Draco with a cool glance.

"Your mother and I have decided that your courting of Miss Parkinson must begin immediately."

"What?" Draco spluttered, thinking it all must be some hilariously funny joke and that various members of his family would soon emerge from behind trees, laughing.

"Pansy is a pleasant girl and will be treated the same as any other member of our family - with respect and - "

"What?" Draco repeated, breaking Lucius's sentence. "You can't do that!"

He immediately regretted the comment.

Lucius grabbed him by the throat of his black polar-neck jumper and slammed him forcefully against a near-by tree.

"Do not tell me what I can and can't say, boy!" Lucius thundered.

Draco considered spitting in his face, standing on his foot or kneeing him in the stomach, but instead, he stayed lifeless in his father's vice grip, considering the shooting pains along his spine, wondering if his neck had been broken with the force.

"You will court Pansy Parkinson whether you like it or not, do you hear me?"

Draco nodded carefully.

"It is your duty. Malfoy's do not have 'choices', Draco," Lucius used the word 'choice' as though it was sarcastic. "Do you think I wanted to marry your mother, boy?"

Out of everything, that was the line that hurt Draco the most. For a second, the pain in his back disappeared.

"There are rules to be followed, not broken, and if I find you going against my words then the penalty will be much worse next time. You have gotten away lightly, do you hear me?"

Draco nodded again, gritting his teeth together, holding back all his anger.

His thoughts were spinning - Pansy - his mother - the pain in his back - Eve.......oh dear lord, what would Eve say?

"I will be checking up, keeping in close contact with Mrs Parkinson to ensure that Pansy is being treated with the respect she deserves. From now on she is a member of this family, your intended, and you will treat her as such. I will inform Gaynor of my little 'chat' with you, and your personal insight into recent events. I will inform her of your change of heart, hoping that she will forgive you, and indeed I. Maybe we can put all this down to childish rebellion."

Draco almost cried. He was being treated like a child when he wasn't one - he should fight back, but he was too weak, and the man before him was too powerful.

"Your courting of Miss Parkinson will begin at once, with the view to an engagement being organised some time next year, around your seventeenth birthday. All the world will see you are in love - hear me, Draco?" Lucius hissed menacingly. Draco nodded, but Lucius forced him back harder against the solid bark of the tree and repeated, "hear me, Draco?"

"Yes - yes father," Draco found his breath hard to catch.

Eventually, Lucius released him, and Draco had to fight to stay upright - his legs were weak.

"I'm glad we have an understanding," Lucius drawled, straightening himself. "Are you clear of what is expected of you?"

"Yes," Draco said meekly, feeling as weak as a kitten and with about as much pride.

"Repeat them to me then, just to make sure," Lucius had a sadistic laugh in his voice. Draco nearly sobbed right there and then.

"I've got to - to date Pansy," the words almost stuck in his throat, "court her, treat her as one of the family."

"Yes, and everyone must see," Lucius added, "the world must know of the firm bond cemented between the families."

Draco kept his eyes low, down on the ground, forcing his wheezing chest to breath steadily, still worried about his back.

"If I hear of any more complaints from Mrs Parkinson, Draco, be assured, next time, I will not let your mother intervene. Hear me?"

"Yes, father," Draco choked, coughing slightly.

"Now, get back to school. I'll be in touch."

Lucius stormed away at this, leaving Draco alone in the forest clearing, unable to move.

He was frightened, just as he used to be - he hated being left alone in this place, worried he wouldn't be able to find his way out, but he didn't trust his legs to run after his father, and he thought that if he moved too much, he would be sick.

His hands were shaking with fear and anger and pent up frustration at being so utterly helpless. He turned to the tree behind him and punched it stupidly with his fist, with began to bleed immediately, knuckles cracked open from the rough, dried sap where the tree had been cut and left to heal.

Draco didn't cry out at the pain, although it was worth it. Instead he just watched the dark red blood flow freely over his pale skin, in-between his fingers and down his palm as he held the hand up to the light of the half-moon for inspection.

"Fuck," he swore softly, back aching and flooding his whole body with pain.

Pansy - bloody Pansy. So, she'd been telling tales, and he wanted to hex her into hell. He wanted to set her alight from the inside with an ancient curse he had read about once that burnt each major organ slowly and painfully.

Tears clouded his vision and he blinked them away angrily, focusing on the pain in his hand. A voice in his head was screaming, The forest! get out of here! it's full of dangerous creatures and animals that hunt you down and drink your blood. Yet at the same time he did not want to move, because moving would make it real - would set the chain of events in motion. With each movement he was more trapped. He had to obey orders now, night and day. He had to be on constant vigilance to be nice with that pug-ugly freak, choice and freedom that were rightfully his had been swiped away in a second and as Draco cradled his bad hand in his good, he wondered if it were humanly possible to hate Lucius Malfoy more than he did right now.

He thought of Eve, his stomach sinking, and he wondered if it were better to just die here and let his body be found. That way Eve would be hurt, be upset, but he wouldn't have to watch, helpless, as he knew he was going to have to when he went back to the castle and told her what had happened with his father. He was being selfish though, thinking about death, and he shook his head to clear his thoughts, which made him slightly dizzy, so he shut his eyes.

He could never lie to Eve, put it would be the perfect solution. He didn't know how she'd react. Would she be angry at him? would she understand that there was nothing he could do to stop what happened? would she save him? heal him?

He sighed.

It took him another half hour before he was ready to trust his legs to carry him the long distance to the castle, and he covered his hand in his robes so that anyone he saw would not suspect anything.

He had been clever, brought the magical parchment with him so that he could stop somewhere and tell Eve to meet him. At first, he had thought he would just talk to her via writing and let her know, but now he needed to see her, needed a hug, he admitted bitterly, thinking how weak he was, and set off towards the castle, teeth still clenched from the pain in his back.

He stopped as he reached the stone steps and made sure he looked presentable, cursing his own stupid standards and this ridiculous facade he kept up.

He managed to make it to an empty classroom on the first floor before pulling out his quill and parchment, wincing at the pain in his hand as he moved.

He wrote quickly on the frayed, familiar piece of yellowed paper,

I need to talk to you. Meet me in room 7, first floor.

please,

Draco.

Then he sat back and waited.

*******

Eve was revising for her Transfiguration O.W.L when the message came through on her parchment.

Well, everyone thought she was revising at least. Really she was fussing herself over what could possibly have happened to Draco. It was seven o'clock before writing appeared hurriedly on the page, and she was almost visibly startled.

The note was worrying, and it's message made Eve's stomach sink a little. Trying not to look like she was up to anything, she pulled the parchment from under her revision notes and replied.

Be there now,

Eve.

x

Glancing up at her revision partners, she saw that slipping away unnoticed was not going to be easy, so she threw down her stuff with an exaggerated sigh.

"Merlin, I hate Potions," she groaned, rubbing her eyes. Hermione looked up and gave her an encouraging smile. Ron, who was holding Hermione's hand, sitting beside her and reading something that looked distinctly less like revision and more like Quidditch tactics, looked up and grinned.

However, it was Harry who spoke. He was looking over Potions notes too.

"Why don't you take a break?"

"Yeah, good point," she smiled, thankful she didn't have to mention it herself. "I think I'll go and see dad."

Harry had kind of hoped she would invite him along, but as she waved and trotted out of the Portrait Hole alone, minutes later, he decided maybe he was invisible to her or something.

******

Eve ran all the way. It wasn't technically lights-out yet, so she was free to be about. If anyone stopped her, she would claim a last minute trip to the library, but fortunately she didn't see anyone.

She arrived at classroom 7 and opened the door softly.

Inside, Draco was sat at a desk, gingerly trying to clean his hand up. Noticing the state Draco was in, Eve shut the door as silently as possible and locked it quickly. Draco turned when he heard the noise and smiled at the sight of her.

"Your here," was all the could think of to say, and he was aware it sounded pathetic, but as she rushed over to him and caught sight of his hand, he saw tiny tears well up in her eyes and grabbed her to him.

She was standing, and he was sitting down, so she nursed his head to her stomach, trying not to get angry or upset at the bloody mess that used to be such a delicate, flaw-free hand.

"Draco," she whispered as he clung to her. "What happened?"

"Eve, I - " Draco started to say, but found nothing else would come out, so she bent down to his level and took his injured hand in hers.

"Did he do this?"

Draco shook his head, seemingly void of all speech.

"Well, how did you get in this state?" she realised she sounded slightly angry, but she was concerned, and she finally understand why her Gran used to scold her when she came in with a grazed knee or cut finger. There was this strange kind of worried love that made you angry.

"I - I punched the tree," Draco groaned, resting his head in his good hand.

"Oh, you silly fool!" Eve smiled slightly, then leaned up and kissed him softly on the cheek.

She pulled away and his eyes fluttered open.

"It hurts," he whispered, indulging in the feeling of being cared for. Whenever he hurt himself at home, one of the house elves could clean it up carelessly and send him back outside. This kind of pampering was something he couldn't understand, but liked the feeling of.

"Here," Eve fussed, lying his hand down gently then producing her wand. She muttered a simple cleaning spell and all the dried blood vanished, leaving only the open wound, which was glistening in the dim light of the classroom.

Eve then went about lighting a few fires in the fire-holders, just enough to see, then returned to where Draco sat, watching her.

"You'll have to go to Madame Pomfrey," Eve surveyed the cut. When she looked up into Draco's eyes, he saw concern and fear written all over her face. "Now tell me what happened. Start at the beginning, and take it slowly."

He began, as she pulled up a chair and sat beside him, cradling him slightly and rubbing his back automatically as he described Lucius's actions.

Eve listened with increasing horror as the story unfolded and was left feeling strangely hollow when Draco stopped talking - the tale out in the open and hanging between then in a pregnant silence.

"Eve?" Draco said after a moment, turning to look into her face. She smiled at him weakly.

"Yes, love?"

"Well, are you angry?" Draco asked hesitantly. He had expected many reactions from Eve - denial, jealousy, anger, hatred, but never an empty silence. He wasn't sure what an empty silence meant.

"I'm just trying to......to get my head around it," Eve explained, hand still running soothingly over Draco's lower back.

Draco sat still, silent, frightened to break this air. He knew that right now, things were still okay, but there was a sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach that in a few minutes, things wouldn't be okay anymore, and he didn't want time to move on to that stage. He'd gratefully just sit here forever, with her rubbing him like this, close to each other, sharing a silence that no one wanted to break.

Eventually, Eve spoke.

"So..........what are you going to do?"

"What do you mean?" Draco frowned.

Another silence.

"I mean, are you going to do what he says, or..........?"

That question hung in the air.

"I have to," Draco finally finished. At the second the words left his mouth, he knew it was over, and some bit of him broke.

"So you're dumping me?" Eve asked, voice low, but words irrational.

"What? no!" Draco pulled away from her loving embrace to face her. Her features were a perfect picture to him, but slashed across this canvas was raw confusion, betrayal, and fear.

"Well, you've agreed to date Pansy," Eve frowned, giving almost a smile. She was confused, unsure of what she was hearing, of what this meant, and all she knew was that she had lost him from her arms.

"I'll pretend to date Pansy," Draco stressed, "but you and I can carry on as we have done, sneaking around. Eve, I'll always love you," he added helplessly.

"You want me to be 'the other woman'?" Eve asked, slightly horrified.

"No, no, it's not like that - "

"Yes, it is," Eve shook her head in fear and disbelief. "You're swapping me for her."

"I don't want to," Draco stressed, "I have to!"

"You don't have to do anything you don't want to!" Eve cried, a look of sheer horror on her face. "He's not the boss Draco, you are!"

"I have to obey what he says, otherwise - "

"Otherwise what? you might have your own mind? God forbid, Draco!"

"It's not like that, please, don't be like this," Draco begged.

"You don't even like the girl, Draco!" Eve said with a bemused look on her face, "you hate her! you can't go out with her! it's mad! just tell him and - "

"What? go through early initiation, be sent to Durmstrang and then only end up married to her eventually anyway?"

"It won't be like that!" Eve said with hope, "you can break away from your family, we'll grow up and get our own family, you won't need him!"

"I'm 15, Eve!" Draco creased up his face in confusion and sadness, "I can't just go around disinheriting myself. They're my family, they're what I know! they're what I grew up with!"

"And they hate you!" Eve exclaimed, although their voices were still low. "They're using you to get what they want - ties with the Parkinson family, a merging on empires and they're using you and Pansy! Doesn't it even matter what you want?"

"Of course it matter to me what I want, do you think I really want to drag myself back to my common room and kiss that ugly cow?"

"You can't!" Eve begged, her bottom lip quivering, "you can't have me and her at the same time! you can't!"

"But I don't love her, she means nothing to me!" Draco protested.

"And if you're going to marry her, what chance do I have, huh?" Eve frowned, suddenly very angry. "Am I supposed to wait around, alone, until you can get away, like some kind of mistress? watch you fawn over her in polite company then take the scraps of your body offered to me when she's done with you?"

Eve felt sick, like things were swirling away from her, she was watching them go and she was helpless to retrieve the situation. Lucius Malfoy wasn't only dictating his own son's future, he was dictating her's too. A blind panic spread over her - she was loosing Draco! the one person who meant anything - everything! she was loosing him for such a pathetic reason as 'duty' and 'honour'. Part of her couldn't believe it was happening and she put her head in her hands, her mind screaming at her.

"Eve, please," Draco's voice faltered. He reached out with his good hand and stroked her hair. She looked up after a moment, eager for anything, eager to save whatever she could.

Before he knew what was happened, she was out of her chair, on his knee and kissing him with a violent desperation.

If I kiss him enough, she thought pathetically, he might not go away.

Draco returned the kiss with eagerness, but his heart was cracking - this was it, he knew it - the final kiss, the last ditch attempt to save each other and he wrapped his arms around her, holding tight and trying really hard not to cry.

Eve wasn't as strong as him, and broke down into tears, effectively ending their kiss. He held her head and cooed soft words to her.

"It's okay," he told her, "you're with me."

But it wasn't okay, and Eve knew it. She had pride inside her, strong pride, and her Gran had always taught her, 'never be second best, because you're not, you're worth far much more than that.'

Eve pulled away from the hug, standing up, backing away slightly from Draco as though he was the enemy. His arms were empty, and realising it, he let them drop to his lap.

"I can't be second best to Pansy Parkinson or anyone else," Eve explained through a sob. "I have to be the only one. I can deal with lying to my friends and I can even keep lying to my father, but only if I'm the only one, Draco. Do you realise what I'm risking, being here with you?" she spread her arms wide, half in desperation, half in sheer exhaustion. "I can't play games, Draco, this has to be it for you, or I can't play along anymore!"

Draco felt his breath catch in his throat and his mind went reeling. I could fall at her feet, beg and plead and hold onto her so she won't..... he thought, but he knew it was useless.

"If we carried on, I'd have to watch you with her," Eve's tears fell steadily down her cheeks. "I'd have to watch you hold her, touch her, kiss her and imagine you having sex with her, in your bed, just like we did. We'd have to wait until she was sated enough to sleep, and then we could hold each other, but that's all, and I would have to give you back!" Eve sobbed. She pushed Draco away when he rose and tried to hold her. "No! you can't!" she cried some more. "I don't want to have to give you back, Draco, I want you to be mine, all mine, I shouldn't have to share!"

Her voice broke and she wiped pointlessly at her tears, which seemed to be a never ending flow.

"Eve, please," Draco offered out his good hand again, hoping she would take it, and when she turned away, his chest went tight and he thought he might not breath.

But she was making her way to the door, turning her back and he felt like he might cave in.

"Eve! you can't leave me like this!" he cried, glad the tears hadn't come, glad he wasn't that pathetic yet. He would beg, but he had pride, and he wouldn't follow her out of this room if she didn't ask him to. He was loosing her, but he felt lost himself already.

"Are you - " Eve's breath hitched in her chest. She was by the door now, ready to leave. She would give it one last shot. "Are you going to choose Lucius over me?" she whispered, "are you going to date Pansy, as he asked?"

There was a dreadful silence.

Draco thought about lying, begging, giving in, anything to make her stay, but finally he sighed, and looked bitterly at the floor.

"I have to," he whispered.

The next thing he heard was a bang as the door shut behind her.

*******

Eve hadn't cried like this since her Gran died. Her sobs were full and heavy and there were strangled cries mixed in as she broke down like a child who had lost her mother would.

"Draco...." she kept muttering, tears mingling with mucus. She wiped at her face pathetically with her hand, but to no avail. She was in a state worse than death when she collapsed behind a statue of an old witch in voluptuous robes, but it was big enough to hide her from view and she couldn't walk any further, her legs were shaking.

He was gone - everything that had was gone. No more touching, no more kissing, it was too much to bear and set off a fresh wave of sorrow and tears.

Images flitted through her mind - the night in the Prefects Bathroom, the dance at the ball, the night when they almost kissed in the hospital wing as he held her up, her only support. She had been completely dependant on him for months, since she had arrived at Hogwarts. At first she was physically dependant of course, she couldn't walk and needed the strength he had to hold her upright. Then slowly she had become emotionally dependant on him - that feeling of loss when he had to leave the Hospital Wing before she did - the emptiness of not having anyone to talk to at night, and then the flood of relief when he visited her.

She thought of the time they first kissed, how her head and rushed and he hadn't been able to keep a check of his emotions. He was so honest with her, so open, that she thought she would never loose him. She thought the only reason relationships broke down was because of a lack of communication, a lack of understanding, but this was neither of those things.

Eve felt ill, drained and ill, yet the tears wouldn't stop, and she was to upset to think about how she would explain herself should anyone go by. She didn't know how long she had been sitting there, raking over memories, until she looked at her watch and saw, through a blur of tears, that it was just before eleven.

She was scared. She didn't want to sit here in-case Filch came by, but then she didn't want to go back to Gryffindor Tower before everyone had gone to bed because she couldn't face anyone. Her eyes were red and puffy, her nose was swollen from her wiping at it and she felt like she was messy, tears stained most of her sleeves and collar.

So she sat some more, not feeling the pain of the cold flagstones or the uncomfortable brickwork behind her back. She was just thinking, running through the whole thing in her mind and something hit her.

Regret.

Suddenly she wanted to find him and apologise. She'd be the other woman, hell, she didn't care if he had 50 wives, as long as she could hold him again, have him comfort her and wipe her tears and tell her he'd always be here, no matter what.

But her brain told her it was silly. Things didn't work like that, it wasn't practical, and she knew she wasn't the kind of person who could share someone, share the emotions and the love. She needed more than half.

As her Gran used to say, 'almost doesn't count'.

If she couldn't have all of him, she wouldn't have any at all, and the thought made her sick, weak and gave her a low, dull headache all around her skull.

I've lost him, it's over......

The words were so final, so important.

No more 'I love you's', no more kisses, no more shared jokes or secret glances. No more hugs to make me feel safe, just an empty void left where he should be and a cold feeling whenever I realise that she's got him, she's holding him, she's kissing him goodnight.

Hours passed, thoughts kept running themselves over and over like scenes from a film, played in slow motion as it slowly sunk it. Gone, over, final, finished.

When she checked her watch again, it was quarter to one in the morning, and she was stiff. Her head hurt, and although she could never imagine getting to sleep, she needed her bed.

Satisfied that no one would be still up in the common room, Eve heaved herself from the floor and sniffled. Tears were still there sometimes, but she felt like she'd cried all she had to cry.

Making her way slowly through the empty corridors was like some stark irony to her - she would always be walking these corridors alone from now on. Not alone in the sense that she was on her own, she would have her friends still, and her father, but she would be alone inside, and that was what mattered.

By the time she reached Gryffindor Tower, she was crying again, softly to herself. She spoke the password to The Fat Lady, who was half asleep, and swung open lazily. Eve made it over the threshold, but was barely half-way to her dormitory when a voice spoke her name.

"Eve?"

**********

There were people screaming, things being thrown and broken, windows smashing and a baby crying. People were charging and green light kept streaking the black night.

Suddenly, all the crying stopped, and through the smoke, four figures became apparent, hooded figures, sliding wands back into their robes. From the clearing fog, another hooded figure appeared, and with a voice that was low, and oddly familiar, the figure spoke one word,

"MORSMORDRE!"

**********

Harry sat up in bed, panting and sweating. His scar burned and he hissed with pain as he touched it.

He'd been having another nightmare and fumbled for his glasses, half wanting to recall the dream half wanting to forget it.

He grabbed a quill and parchment quickly from beside the bed where he had been doing some revision before he fell asleep, and wrote down all he could remember. After that, he tried to forget.

He laid back down and tried to resume sleep, but these things always shook him up and he tossed and turned for a long time before sitting up and resigning himself to a little more revision, maybe Potions, to bore him entirely, then he could get back to sleep.

Leaning over the bed with a sigh, he fished around for his things, but his Potions text was missing, and he remembered - Damn! I left it in the common room.

Debating whether to just study something else, Harry twirled his quill in his fingers for a moment. Eventually, he sighed, and got up quietly, hearing Seamus's re-assuring snores. Wish I could sleep that soundly, he thought before padding across the little dormitory and opening the door without a squeak.

Down by the dying embers of the fire, he found his Potions text lying on the table where he'd left it, and too lazy to go back to bed, he sat in his favourite comfy chair and began to read listlessly. It was better being away from the place he'd had the nightmare anyway, helped him forget.

He was just starting Chapter 14, 'Nerve-deadening Potions and Their Disastrous Effects', when he heard the Portrait Hole opening.

He squinted through the near-darkness and saw a figure he noticed emerge from the gloom.

"Eve?"

*********

She stopped dead. For a second, she thought it was Draco, come to wait for her, save her, tell her he didn't mean it, but then she realised this was Gryffindor - he didn't know the password, and that voice sounded suspiciously like Harry.

"Yeah?" she whispered through the darkness, unwilling to go to him.

"Where've you been?" Harry asked, also whispering, although there was no one to wake.

"Out," Eve sniffed, trying to hold back her tears.

"You all right?" Harry stood up, thinking of going to her then wondering why she hadn't come to him.

Eve had never been able to hold back tears when someone asked her if she was alright, and she started to cry again. Harry was at her side like a shot.

"Hey! hey!" he soothed, "what's wrong?" he stroked her arm lightly. Eve continued to cry as quietly as she could, and just shook her head.

"Come and sit down," Harry urged, steering the now lifeless girl to where he had been sitting. He let her fall into his favourite chair, then sat on the arm and put his arm tentatively around her shoulder, not too sure whether he should hold her or not. "Eve," he tried again after a moment. "What's wrong? is it your dad?"

Eve shook her head.

"Has someone hurt you?"

She shook her head again.

"Was it Parvati?"

Again, another no.

"Eve, come on, please," Harry said softly, handing her a tissue, "you've got to tell me, or I can't help."

Eve dried her eyes and her nose, and tried to stem the flow of tears. Her breathing was ragged and she kept sniffing. Looking into the fire helped - watching the dying flames was something to concentrate on, and slowly, she felt herself come back to the situation. Harry was beside her, arm around her shoulders, gently stroking her arm, and from sheer tiredness, she leaned on him. His free hand began to stroke her hair, only very shyly, in case he was pushed away, but she felt it, closed her eyes and imagined it was Draco.

"Eve?"

Harry broke the fantasy and she sat up, wiping her nose a final time.

"Please tell me? you've been acting odd for a while," Harry frowned.

He's trying to help, Eve thought. I need to tell someone, I need someone to know, and this is Harry, one of the friends I felt so bad about lying to........

"Eve?" Harry tried again. "Please?"

Eve steeled herself.

"Harry, there's something I need to tell you," she gulped, "promise not to get mad?"

"I promise," Harry frowned, his dream now well and truly forgotten. He saw her hand was shaking and took it in his. Eve didn't bother to pull away, it was nice to have some warmth. She was going to need it to tell this story.............