By My Side

Chapter 19.

At some point on their journey through the darkened corridors of the Manor, Eve realised that all the passageways seemed to blur into one. If someone asked her to trace her way back out, she knew she wouldn't be able to, and she was hugely thankful for Draco being at her side.

As they reached the lower levels of the house (down more flights of stairs, some grand, others tiny, small holes that they could barely squeeze through that Draco gave no more explanation of than 'secret passage',) it was clear that Draco was becoming more nervous. He kept stopping to listen for sounds or thinking he saw shadows in the darkness. His edginess was making Eve edgy, and she found that the tight knot of fear in her stomach was increasing. She had a nasty, taught feeling in her throat too, which made her feel sick and anxious, but she kept reminding herself that she would see her dad soon, then everything would be okay.

She had brought a set of her father's robes with her, but because of their bulkiness, she had placed a newly-learnt Reducto charm on them so that they fitted nicely into her pocket. It wasn't something she had planned to do, she had been trying to avoid thinking of how her father would look in reality when she saw him. He would probably be cut to shreds, maybe some blood, and his robes were bound to be ripped, hence her quick decision before leaving his study to grab something for him to wear. Even as they made their journey onwards to the dungeons, the images that kept flowing into Eve's mind of her father looking bruised and battered were pushed out with more positive thoughts.

Just as Eve was about to ask Draco how much further they had to go, the boy put out his arm to halt her progress and she stopped closely behind him as she had done several other times that evening.

"That's the entrance to the dungeons," Draco whispered, indicating an imposing granite archway whose path twisted and turned away into blackness. There were two rather menacing stone figures looming either side of the entranceway whose eyes made Eve shiver with their beady pupils that looked almost real. "There's no one down there, because the lamps aren't lit, and whenever father goes down there, he gets the elves to light the passage. However, I don't think you have much time, so......be quick." With that, Draco pulled Remus's wand from his pocket and thrust it into Eve's hand.

"Hang on," Eve frowned, feeling like everything had happened all too suddenly. She'd been planning this moment for what seemed like weeks, and now, here she was stood on the threshold and she was timid and nervous. "You're not coming down with me?"

"I've got to stay here, to stop anyone else who tries to get down there," Draco explained with a brusque tone to his voice, which was low and clipped in the near-darkness. "Don't light the candles, just feel your way along. It's quite far down, mind the steps and watch your footing just before you enter the dungeon floor, it gets wet down there sometimes."

"What about wards? spells? charms? to stop intruders?" Eve panicked, her fear rising in her chest.

"None," Draco explained. "The Manor is that well protected that spells inside are obsolete. You've got to be quick though, remember?"

Eve nodded and slipped her father's wand in her robe pocket with the shrunken robes.

"Oh, and when everything's done," Draco continued, looking about nervously, "if you find that the candles are lit on the way down, I've done it to warn of danger. I'll stop anyone who tries to get down there, and then throw the portkey down the steps. If you find it, use it, because it means we've been rumbled. Got me?"

It all seemed too much for Eve to take in, she was shaking with fear and realised that in her naivety, she hadn't thought this through. She had only envisaged scenes of being re-united with her dad, but she hadn't given much thought to the real risk involved.

Clasping her hands together in order to stop herself trembling, Eve nodded dumbly and walked forward blindly towards the archway. She stopped just before she walked into the darkness and looked back at Draco, who was looking around frantically for any sign of movement, and when she caught his stare it was like seeing a rabbit in the headlights of a car. She'd never seen him look so tense and for a second, thoughts of what Lucius Malfoy must do to him flickered through her mind. They were shattered into pieces when she realised Draco was gesturing her on though, and she muttered, "Lumos," to her wand before continuing the decent into the bowels of the house.

The light of her wand gave Eve hardly any ability to see her feet, so she felt with her hands on the wall and put out a tentative foot for each step downwards. She could just about handle the slimy grease that was sticking to her fingers from the damp forming green limescale on the brickwork of the underground, but the stench was killing her. It smelled like mould and mildew and.....

......death.

She wrinkled up her nose and ploughed on, trying to not cough and to breathe through her mouth.

As a little girl, Eve was never afraid of the dark like other children her age - her Gran used to tell her that the dark wasn't scary, it was the light that was scary, just the same as ghosts - "It's the living you want to watch out for," the older woman would say in a warm tone before she tucked Eve in at night, and somehow, Eve managed to pass through the stage of fear of darkness quite quickly. Dark was usually quite comforting, but down here it was stifling, almost like the blackness was sapping the oxygen and she found that with each step, she lost the tiny bit of vision she had and shutting her eyes was a better option, because then she couldn't form horrific scenes with the shards of light she managed to grasp.

She wasn't moving very fast - watching her step made her wary of falls and she was on constant alert to keep her ears open for the sound of her portkey box being thrown down in case of an emergency.

I just have to pull this off, she thought, I have to, I have to, I have to.

Abruptly, the steps beneath her feet stopped, and Eve found herself on solid ground. Using her wandlight to see the floor in the distance, she found it was now sloping down slightly, and rounding a sharp bend. Sighing deeply to prepare herself, she followed the little path and as soon as she turned the corner she came into flickering flamelight.

The sight before her eyes made her gasp.

*******

Draco slid to the floor when Eve disappeared through the archway down to the dungeon. He was nervous because he knew it was likely his father would be down her at some time to 'tend to their visitor' as he put it, but at least he didn't have to worry about wandering house elves or his mother slipping about - it was not only getting very late, but this place was one of the areas of the Manor that were deserted unless being used.

The whole stress and fear of the situation was making Draco tired. He felt worn out and anxious and he longed to be back in the relevant safety of his bed at Hogwarts. Granted, he'd rather be there with Eve by his side, but.......

He'd been pondering his feeling for her all that day, and he was trying to keep himself in check, but with such incidents as her being missing when he returned from Lucius's study, the racing of his heartbeat didn't need a doctor to inform him he was still very clearly in love with her.

If he were being truthful, he'd hoped it was dying. He knew he still had feeling for her of course, but he'd hoped things were becoming weaker in his heart.

Recent events had only led to prove him wrong.

Watching Eve descend into the dungeons was one of the hardest things he'd ever had to do. Unlike her, he had a fair idea of what would await her when she got down there - he'd seen some house-elves be punished in the dungeons and once, using his father's Pensieve, he'd visited some real torture sessions from back when the Death Eaters ruled in power. Prisoners who were left to live often died of their wounds - the whole thing had made a very young, childish Draco feel sick and want his mother, so he was really quite reluctant to let Eve go down there alone, but someone had to wait up here, and he was hoping that his father hadn't had much of a chance to get at Professor Lupin, considering the recent full moon and the sight that must have greeted Lucius a few nights ago.

Draco rubbed his eyes tiredly and checked his watch, which he had missed on those few days he had used it to make his portkey. It was after midnight now, yet unlikely that everyone was in bed. There was a feeling of tension in the night air that gave Draco a nasty sense of foreboding, like this was the calm before the storm, and silently the youngest Malfoy prayed he would get to see Hogwarts before the day was out. If he didn't, then he doubted he would ever see it again at all.

Draco yawned then shut his eyes, relishing in the momentary peace. He just wanted to get back to Hogwarts. He wanted Eve with him, he wanted them to be safe, and he wanted to get away from here, from the threat of his father.

Knowing he had to stay alert, Draco shook himself and opened his eyes, casting a brief glance around for any new signs of life.

Nothing.

He started to count the bricks in the wall, to keep him busy.

******

The Malfoy dungeons were proper horror chambers.

Eve had never been in dungeons that were used for their age-old purpose before, in fact, before Hogwarts, she'd never been in dungeons in her life.

The stench of death and decay was horrible and strongly overpowering but it was the sights that made Eve think she was about to heave. There were bones on the floor - they looked like human bones but Eve wasn't willing to get up close enough to find out for sure. There were real iron manacles hanging from the wall, in fact, the scene could have been straight out of a Muggle horror movie and Eve shivered inwardly to think her father had been down here for so long.

Remus was nowhere to be seen now though, in the wide expanse of wall and stone flooring, there wasn't even a sign that anyone had been down here in decades. Suddenly, a horrible thought ran through Eve's mind :

What if this was a trick to get me down here? What if Lucius Malfoy if about to turn up and I walked to my own death? Draco wouldn't do that - would he?

A noise behind Eve made her jump, but it was just a rat, scuttling along the cold, hard floor. However, the noise brought Eve back to her senses. No, I mustn't think like that. I'm here to save Dad, if I can only find him.....

The dungeons expanded around a corner infront of her and she was glad for the weak lighting of magical, constant burning fires in the little cups on the walls that cast an eerie orange glow. She didn't think her eyes could take anything that gave off much more light after being in the darkness so long, yet it was enough to see.

Eve walked on, her feet making an echoing sound against the floor as she hugged herself close against the wintry temperature that would make anyone down here think they were in the middle of December, despite the bright sun that had been shining over Hogwarts all day.

There was an indent at the end of the long, formidable stretch of dungeon back-wall and Eve rushed up to it when she saw a flash of colour. She didn't think about the noise her approaching footsteps were making now, all she could think was that she was sure she saw a patch of black material down there.

Sure enough, as she got nearer, she saw that lying on the floor, head slumped forward in a broken way, was her father.

"Dad!" Eve almost screamed, and ran the short distance between them.

Up close, she backed off a little at the sight of him. He was covered in dark, dried red blood and there were cuts and lacerations all over his exposed torso. His robes were cut in pieces and patches and barely covered his modesty - the shirt and pants he had been wearing beneath his best green robe were gone and he had been left half-naked. Eve began to cry a little at the sight but got angry. I mustn't be babyish! she thought as she wiped away her tear with an angry hand and knelt down by the un-moving form of her father.

Gingerly lifting Remus's chin, taking care not to touch any of the fresh, oozing wounds on his face, Eve saw that her father's eyes were closed and immediately she checked for a pulse. He was still alive, but barely. He was weak, and she wasn't sure what spells he was under.

First thing she knew to do in her spinning, frightened mind was to get him out of his restraints. She rested his head back down gently, tears running silent and un-noticed down her pale cheeks, while she picked up his wrist and studied the cold metal clasp that kept Remus chained. His wrists were cut and bleeding where the thick, ragged-edged mental bracelet had cut into his skin and Eve winced at the sight of the blood. He probably passed out from pain, she thought. His arms seemed to be in a rather uncomfortable position as his body was slumped to the floor yet the manacles were hanging from about half-way down the wall, which meant Remus's hands were above his head. His fingers were white and bloodless yet Eve couldn't think of a charm to unlock them. Even though her charm knowledge was limited, she simply couldn't think because she was panicking and flustering too much. Her mind was reeling and she was beginning to sob desperately. Draco should have come down here with me! she told herself angrily. I'm too stupid to be left alone with such an important job!

"Daddy, please," Eve choked, her voice thick with tears, "daddy, please wake up!"

Unable to think of anything else to do, Eve shook her father lightly by the shoulders. She was clueless as to what to do - she hadn't had any experience with people who were ill or hurt and somewhere in the back of her mind a pointless thought flashed across her consciousness, I should have taken that Medi-wizard course with Gran! she'd know what to do!

Suddenly, a scene flashed into her mind, a simple spell her Gran had shown her, a waking spell for those in a deep sleep brought on by shock.

Fingers shaking, Eve reached for her wand and pointed it blindly at her father. Praying her words would have some effect, she screwed her eyes tight and mustered all her courage to pronounce the spell in a strong voice.

When Eve opened her eyes she saw her father stir gently and she smiled beside herself.

"Dad!"

Remus lifted his head as though it were a great weight and his neck wasn't strong enough, then looked at Eve with half-closed, un-focused eyes.

"Eve?" his voice croaked, small and cracked from lack of liquid. Eve scolded herself for not thinking to bring some water.

"Daddy, please, you have to listen," Eve whispered, amazed and thanking Merlin her father was now awake. "I need to un-chain you."

"Eve? what - what are you.....what are you doing here?" Remus coughed.

"I'm saving you, daddy, but I need you help. Please? please?"

"I - I don't understand," the Professor frowned slightly and shifted in his position. "My - my shoulders hurt."

"I know daddy, and that's why you need to help me. I need a spell to break the bonds around you wrist!"

"I - I don't have my wand," Remus croaked, still unsure in his own mind if this was an illusion, his final moments on earth seeing some kind of ghostly figure of his daughter. Had he started to hallucinate? was this another one of the sordid games they had been playing with him? trick him into seeing her then taking her away?

"I've got it," Eve assured him. "Please, a spell?"

"En - engorgio," Remus whispered, feeling as though his breath was leaving him. Eve chided herself for not thinking of this herself then cast the spell on both of the shackles around her father's wrist and watched the strong metal expand before her very eyes. Without warning, Remus's hand dropped to his sides as the cuffs became to big to hold him and his hands slipped out.

Remus hissed in pain.

"Oh dad!"

Unable to control it any longer, Eve threw her arms around her dad and hugged him lightly to avoid his cuts. He was all skin and bone, the pale colour of his face covering every part of his skin. The welts that were bleeding all over him gave him stabbing shards of pain when she touched him, but he could bear it because he knew it made her real.

All at once, Eve came to her senses and became efficient.

"Right, we need to get you out of here," she said in an authoritative tone, pulling away from him. "I brought you new robes."

Eve pulled the tiny piece of fabric out of her robes and set another enlarging spell on them, then she draped the thick material over her dad, to try to make him warm.

"I have you wand here," she told him, "and a working portkey tuned only into you. We don't have much time so you need to use it to get to Hogsmeade. When you get there, you need to go to Madame Rosmerta - don't attempt to walk to Hogwarts, it's too far."

"How.....how did you get here, Eve?" Remus frowned, it hurt to talk.

"Draco brought me. It's complicated dad, and I'll explain it all when we get back to Hogwarts, but first you must - "

It took a moment for Remus to catch up with what his daughter had said, but when he did, his voice came much surer than it had before.

"Draco Malfoy?" he interrupted. Eve looked up from what she was doing, fishing in her breast pocket for the portkey.

"Yeah," she said quietly, thinking that here definitely wasn't the place for this conversation.

"Eve, he's trouble, they're all trouble, we need to get out - "

"It's okay dad," Eve smiled, "I know all that, and I'll explain the whole thing later, but how about we get you safe right now, yeah?"

"Eve, please - " Remus had a looked of pure, desperate fear on his face, and Eve bent to kiss his cheek.

"Daddy, don't try to speak, you're not strong enough. Here, let's stand up."

Eve put her hands under her father's arms and helped him to his unsteady, shaking feet. The robe he had been wearing fell away, so Eve picked it up and threw it back around him, buttoning it up all the way to the floor for warmth. It was a winter robe, made of thick wool, but it still wasn't enough to stop Remus shivering in the dungeons.

"I'm not leaving you here," Professor Lupin coughed, using a hand on his daughter's shoulder to steady him.

"It's okay, I have a portkey to get back myself."

"Well, you go first, then I'll join you," Remus said, although it was making him feel dizzy to be both standing up and talking at the same time. His wounds were stinging also, which made his eyes water.

"I can't," Eve said with a hint of exasperation in her voice. There was no time for talking, but here Remus was, chatting away! "Draco has our portkey back up - "

"You're not to go anywhere near him!" the old Professor commanded sternly.

"Dad, I can't explain right now, but - dad?"

Remus looked to be falling into some kind of sleep. He was feeling faint from his blood loss and his vision was starting to go dark but Eve managed to keep him awake by shaking him.

"No more talk dad," Eve said in a shaky voice, afraid to see him this way. "When I give you this portkey, you'll end up in Hogsmeade. Everyone knows you're missing - go to someone and get help. Please?"

Remus nodded. It was all he could do.

Eve folded her fingers around the charmed sickle coin and held it just above her father's now outstretched arm. Saying a silent prayer that things would go okay, she gave him a final peck on the cheek then dropped the coin. He caught it and within seconds, the hand that had been supporting her father's weight was empty.

Eve was alone, and suddenly more frightened than ever. She had to get back to Draco, so making sure that she still had her father's wand tucked safely in her robes, she left the dungeon and made her way back up through the black tunnels.

*******

When Eve appeared from the darkness, it was as though Draco had forgotten where he was - he stood up without thinking how much noise he made, and he went straight to her.

"How did it go?" he asked eagerly, catching himself at last minute and remembering he wasn't to hug her, wasn't to hold her anymore.

"He was a mess," Eve said tiredly. Draco saw the tear tracks on her cheek and wanted to help so badly, but his hand wouldn't reach out to her, instead it just burnt a hole in his pocket from frustration.

"We need to get out of here," Draco told her. "Come on."

"What?" Eve frowned, feeling confused. "Why can't we just portkey from here?"

"I need to get back to my room, make sure the fireplace is shut off properly from the floo connection," when Draco saw the look of unhappiness on Eve's face, he added quietly, "I forgot to do it earlier - sorry."

"It's okay," Eve sighed, then checked her watch. "It's pretty late. Everybody should be in bed, right?"

"I don't know," Draco shrugged, feeling stupid and worthless and like the furthest thing from a protective partner that he could get, "we'll still need to be quiet though."

"Right," Eve managed a weak smile.

The re-tracing of their steps commenced, going slightly faster now, more eager to just get out of the building. Half of the plan had gone well, now they were just balancing on the edge of completion and Eve had a nasty feeling something horrible was going to happen.

The journey back to Draco's room seemed shorter than when they had come in the opposite direction, but Eve surmised in her mind that this could have been for a million reasons. For one, the couple were now holding hands, clinging onto each other for dear life in fact, and it made Eve's heart beat faster. Since this whole thing started, she'd had to deal with her recurring feelings for Draco, but there had always been the problem of her dad, something else to focus on. Now her dad was fine, Eve was feeling half relieved that he was out of the Manor yet still half frightened that he wouldn't get himself back to Hogwarts. She wished she could have helped more, but she knew that someone was bound to do that job for her - afterall, if she got caught rescuing him, then it might get back to the Death Eaters and Lucius would know she'd been in his home. The problem was, now all Eve had to focus on was the boy beside her, the feelings of relief that were flooding through her body and bringing with them this strange awareness of Draco's presence by her side.

As they rounded a corner in the corridor with the old portraits, Draco heard the small, unmistakable padding of feet that belonged to a house elf. Eyes darting around for the nearest place of safety, Draco dragged Eve through one of the doors he knew was left unlocked.

Eve was nearly knocked off her feet by the change of direction - she'd been lost in her thoughts and not concentrating on where she was going. She chided herself for being so stupid as to let her mind wander, then realised they were in a little bathroom, Draco leaning against the door, his chest rising and falling fast and hard - he was panting from fear.

"What was that?" Eve frowned.

"A house elf," Draco replied in a whisper. His usual countenance had long since been dropped and now he looked clearly frightened and panicked. Eve felt desperately at fault, then realised they weren't holding hands anymore. Her emotions were in a whirlwind but the strongest thing she felt was anger - angry that she wasn't allowed to comfort from right now, even though he'd just risked everything for her. Eve was angry that he still wasn't hers, even after everything they'd done and been through, he still technically was with Pansy Parkinson. Bitch doesn't know how lucky she is, Eve thought, letting herself catch more than a lingering glance at the ruffled, panting Draco Malfoy who was stood in front of her. She smiled at some of the thoughts that came into her head and when Draco opened his eyes from his attempt to calm his heart-rate, he saw the blush that coloured her cheeks and told him she had been staring.

"What?" he smiled too, breath still uneven.

"Nothing," Eve looked at her hands. "Let's get back to your room, yeah?"

"Okay," Draco nodded, listening for noise outside then opening the door hesitantly. Eve followed him back out into the corridor and shut the bathroom door with care. They didn't encounter anyone else on the rest of their journey back to Draco's bedroom.

******

"Thank God for that!" Draco sighed, shutting his door behind him. He relaxed against the wood and smiled at Eve, who was acting decidedly strange. "What's wrong?" he frowned.

"Nothing," Eve lied, sitting herself down on Draco's bed and leaning forward, head in her hands.

"You look exhausted," Draco observed, taking the portkey box from his robes and walking slowly over to where she sat.

"Oh, God!" Eve said in a whining voice that was muffled because of her hands, "why do these things have to happen to me?"

Draco didn't hear what she said, but laughed anyway and sat down next to her. He dragged one of her hands away from her face and was rewarded with a groan. "Couldn't hear you. What did you say?"

"I said - oh, never mind," Eve sighed, overly aware of the fact Draco still held her wrist. She sat up slightly and used all her self restraint not to lean on him for comfort.

"You want to get back now? The fireplace looks completely shut off, but I had to make sure."

"Yeah, great, whatever," Eve rubbed her eyes. She felt strange and uncomfortable because she wanted Draco so much but she had to act like her didn't.

"Are you okay? you look pretty upset," Draco observed, them slipped his arm around her shoulder. Eve melted into him with ease then started to cry silently at the warmth of his, and at her tiredness and her relief that came after many days of fear. She could also smell that distinctive hint of aftershave Draco always wore - it reminded her of happier times, and she suddenly couldn't hold her emotions back.

"Hey!" Draco frowned with concern, hugging her closer as he realised she was shaking from silent sobs, "it's okay! it's all over! he's safe!"

"No it's not!" Eve cried, face buried deep in Draco's neck, "it's not all over! it's just begun!"

"What do you mean?" Draco asked softly, pulling her away from him so he could see her face. She was indeed crying, and her eyes were all red. He brushed away a tear with his finger but it seemed to make Eve cry harder.

"When - when I get back to school," Eve spoke through choking gulps of air that caught in her throat, "everyone will want to know what happened - Dad will want to know why I was with you. I'll have to explain everything to everyone and they'll be angry, then I have to deal with Harry and - "

"Hey," Draco said defensively, lifting her chin a little with his finger so he could look into her eyes. "I'll deal with Potter, okay? you leave him to me. I'll tell him it was all my fault, he hates me anyway. As for your dad, he'll understand - we saved him! he'll just be so glad to be back with you, he won't even care if you've been dating that bloody great oaf, Hagrid!"

This made Eve laugh a little through her tears, which she wiped away with her sleeve.

"I suppose," she smiled weakly.

"It can only get better from here," Draco assured her, but something in the sentence struck Eve as being wrong, and she just couldn't help but tell him the things she thought.

"How can it?" she asked in a broken tone. "You're still with Pansy and I'm still with.....well, I was with Harry."

"Was?" Draco asked tentatively, heart beating madly at her hints of feelings for him.

"I can't date him now, this whole thing has made me realise - made me see that I don't care for him - I don't want to string him along any longer."

"I see," Draco said lamely, lost for any other words. Eve smiled at the vacant expression he wore, so unlike himself.

"You look shocked, Malfoy," she teased, pushing him a little yet still keeping a hold on his hand. He looked up and blushed slightly.

"Er....well......."

"Lost for words?" Eve asked with disbelief, smiling through her final few tears.

"Well, you always manage to take away my ability for rational thought," Draco smiled a little and raised his eyebrows. Eve laughed.

"Yeah, I guess so."

They sat in silence for a moment, just looking at each other then looking away from fear of making a connection they couldn't break. When Draco eventually broke the silence, his voice was a whisper, and his eyes searched to meet Eve's, to let her know he was speaking the truth -

"I still love you, you know."

Eve didn't want to catch his gaze, her heart was pounding in her chest and she was scared he could hear it. Instead, she looked at the floor and nodded. Her voice too was broken and a whisper.

"I love you too."

"Eve?"

She had to look up when he said her name with such a tone - sounding like a fragile child. Their eyes met, and from the second she saw that grey gaze, Eve knew she was lost, knew that anything could happen.

"Can I - can I kiss you?" Draco swallowed nervously. Breathing hard from both fear and desire, Eve nodded firmly and what followed felt like the most natural thing in the world.

Draco leaned forward and met her lips, which parted immediately, drawing him inside her with an eagerness that spoke of going too long without that feeling. Draco had meant for it to be gentle kiss, meant to try to portrait how much he had missed her simply by moving his lips against hers, but the kiss was more than that, it was fierce, like ownership, strong and demanding. Eve felt like a diver who had been trapped underwater too long without air, finally hitting the surface and taking giant, great gulps to make up for that time when she thought she might never taste air again.

"Draco....." she panted against his lips, "Draco.......please......"

"God, I miss you so much!" Draco replied, wrapping his arms around her. Somehow, their kiss dissolved into a tight hug, Eve nuzzling her face into his neck, planting tiny kisses on the delicate skin, murmuring intelligible words.

It had been a long night, and they were both exhausted, just content to simply hold each other tightly.

"I'm sorry," Draco finally spoke, breaking their peaceful silence.

"Sorry?" Eve frowned, pulling away from him slightly.

"I should never have let this happen," Draco said absent-mindedly stroking her short hair away from her face.

"Let what happen?" Eve asked, feeling scared that he would say their kiss was a mistake.

"Let my father - anything - get in between us," their eyes met and Eve felt herself beginning to understand.

"I'm sorry too," she whispered.

"I promise you," Draco said with determination, kissing her lips gently, "I'm going to sort this out. I'm going to find some way for us to be together. I can't go on any longer like we have been doing."

The sentiment made Eve's heart leap into her throat. She really believed him when he said he would make things better - he had to, he always did.

"You mean it?" she asked weakly, suddenly feeling like a broken china doll.

Draco just nodded, then kissed her nose playfully. Eve smiled.

"Let's get you back to Hogwarts. You need sleep."

"I've got to go and see my dad first," Eve sighed, remembering that she still had a hell of a lot of explaining to do before the night was out. She longed for sleep, but things needed to be sorted out, lots of things.

The couple got up from their place on the bed and Draco drew out the box with their portkey in. He checked the fireplace and made sure it was off the floo connection while Eve located the things she had in her robes - her wand and her father's.

"Ready?" Draco asked, squeezing Eve's hand one last time.

"Yep," Eve said confidently, feeling like she could do anything as long as he promised never to let go of her hand.

That wasn't a promise he could make, however, and the thought made Eve shiver.

With that, Draco opened the box and at the exact same moment, they both grabbed onto the portkey. The last thing Eve felt was that sickening hook behind her navel - she hated travelling by portkey.

******

The walk through Hogsmeade, back up to Hogwarts was done in complete silence, to match the black of night. Draco walked ahead, Eve behind, not touching one another but wanting to.

Eve couldn't stop thinking about the way his lips had felt on hers, the way he made her lose control of everything by just a simple touch. She yawned sadly and stared at his back, lulling her mind into warmer thoughts by remembering their night in the Prefects bathroom after the New Years Ball. It seemed strange that it was now Midsummer, and that was back in the dead of winter. If she tried hard enough, Eve could still remember the patterns he had traced in her stomach with the tip of his tongue. It felt strange to have him so near yet not hold on.

When they reached the castle, they both just instinctively knew that their journey's next stop was the Hospital Wing. Remus was bound to be there, and although it was probably best for Eve to handle this situation on her own, Draco wanted to walk her there, make sure she was safe and that she had the courage to go in. He thought that if it were him, he'd avoid the situation right now.

The whole castle was asleep, and although they had walked these halls at this time of night together countless times before, it was a strange feeling to be doing it again. Eve thought back to the first times she had met him in the darkened corridors and wondered that if she had known then how things would turn out, would she still have met him?

Yes, of course she would, and she knew that without doubt.

Sometimes, even though a road is hard to follow, you have to follow it anyway, just to see where it leads. Her Gran always used to tell her that life isn't a destination, it's a journey, and that sometimes, the most rocky roads can lead to the best places. The path that she'd walked down with Draco was definitely rocky, but as Eve arrived at the door to the Hospital Wing and Draco turned to her with a sleepy smile, his hair all messed up and looking filthy from their journey, Eve knew that she wouldn't want to be anywhere else but there.

Reaching up on tip-toes and pulling him gently towards her, Eve leaned up and kissed Draco's forehead.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"My pleasure," he replied.

Voices from inside the great swinging doors broke their moment. Eve heard her father's voice say something, then a muffled reply by Dumbledore. There were some footsteps that sounded like Madame Pomfrey retreating to her office and then Eve heard the distinct, deep voice of Snape.

She didn't need to tell Draco that it was time for him to go - he just knew. Kissing her cheek lightly, but lingering there a moment to memorise the feel of her soft skin and the soapy clean smell of her hair, Draco felt blindly for her hand in the darkness. He didn't lace their fingers together or hold on tight, instead he just wrapped their smallest fingers around each other.

By the time Eve had let out a sad sigh, he had turned without looking back and disappeared down the corridor into the night blackness.

It took her a moment, but eventually Eve turned to face the door of the Hospital Wing. Mustering all her strength and mental resolve, she put her hand on the doorknob and closed her eyes for a second.

It was going to be a long night.