"What do you want to do for Christmas?" Draco asked randomly as we ate our breakfast in the great hall. Aria sat on my right as he sat to my left. Maggie and Dani sat across from me, but they weren't paying any attention to us.

I stopped my chewing as I thought for a moment. I turned towards him and shook my head for a moment as I made a thinking face.

"I don't know." I finally laughed once as I thought more about an answer. "Why? Do you have something in mind?" I asked him as I cut into my meal. I took another piece of toast from the trays that sat in front of us before I started picking it a part.

A small smile crossed his lips as he nodded his head enthusiastically. He looked like such a child, a look that only I ever got to see him from him. I giggled lightly as I kicked one of my legs over the bench so that I could fully face him as I straddled it.

"Tell me then. What do you want to do for our holiday?" I asked him with a warm smile on my lips. He made it so easy to forget the rest of the world. When our fighting and bickering came to a stop, it was always like I was the sun and he only revolved around me.

"I was thinking about going away," he told me casually as he looked down at my hands. He grabbed one of them into his and interlocked our fingers. "What do you think?" He asked me sweetly. I felt my smile grow wider as I nodded my head.

"Where?" I giggled. He didn't have to ask me twice. A trip with Draco away from everyone and everything else was all I could ever hope for. He chuckled lightly at my excitement as his smile grew wider, too.

"Get a room!" Maggie mocked us as she threw a muffin at my head. I gasped lightly from the impact before I turned to look at her in surprise. Dani covered her mouth in an attempt to hide her giggling from me. "You two and your PDA. You know, there are single people present who don't get to experience such joys. Have some common courtesy." She joked in an offended manner. Draco rolled his eyes, always tired of her teasing and snarky remarks that involved him.

"This is a perfect example of why no boy has the patience to put up with you." He told her flatly. "You're rude and annoying as hell." He said as his brows furrowed together and his attitude took over.

Merlin, he's attractive.

"Worked out perfectly fine for you, didn't it, ya git?" She laughed at him as Dani chuckled beside her. Draco picked up a muffin and tossed it at her harshly, hitting her in the center of her forehead. Aria and Blaise turned their attention towards the four of us now, laughing in the process as they watched the two quarrel with one another.

"Draco!" She squealed as the chocolate chips smudged across her face. He smirked at her, enjoying the upset look on her face before he stood from the bench and rushed out of the room. "It's not funny!" She scolded all of us as our laughter didn't die down.

"You did it to me first!" I confronted her as I wiped the tears of laughter from my eyes. "What? Did you think he wasn't going to reprimand you for it? He tried to catch our Professor on fire because of me for crying out loud." I laughed. Many students started standing from the tables, indicating that it was time for us to leave.

My friends and I all threw our trash away while we talked about a number of things. We followed the large crowd out of the great hall and walked through the hallways. A paper bird had the attention of many as it flew through the air of the hallways, creating a series of patterns in the sky.

The confusion on my face was obvious for everyone as the paper bird stopped flapping it's wings in front of me. I grabbed it from the air and opened it up to read it.

The old bathroom. Meet me there.

-D.M. <3

I laughed lightly before the paper set itself a flame and disappeared from my grasp. My friends stared at me, waiting for me to tell them what it was.

"I'm going to find Draco. I'll see you guys in a little bit." I told them casually as I started to walk through the opposite hall.

"What about class? Carrow is going to be livid if you skip Dark Arts." Aria tried to confront me as I walked away from all of them. They waited for me for a moment in hopes that I would change my mind.

"Fuck 'em!" I joked as I held my middle fingers up in the air. Seriously, Carrow was the last person in the world that I gave a single care for. Aria rolled her eyes before she led the way for the others to head to class.

I walked past multiple students before I reached the old hallway that hardly anyone used. The castle gets so many renovations each year, students had found quicker shortcuts to get to where they were heading nowadays.

I approached the door and pushed it open carefully. The door was ripped open before my arm was grabbed and I was dragged in. Draco pushed me against the door roughly and locked it behind him as he pressed his lips against mine hungrily.

"What are you-" I moved my face as I giggled. Draco moved his lips to my cheek before he trailed them to my ear and down my neck. "What are you doing?" My laughter continued as I closed my eyes and leaned back against the door.

"Just giving you a preview of our getaway." He whispered against my skin as I shivered slightly. He chuckled as his hands pushed my hips back slightly, using his strength to hold me steady against the door.

"Where do you- where are we going?" I asked him breathlessly as he moved his lips across my skin. I hadn't received any sort of sexual attention from Draco in weeks. I felt like I didn't even know how to handle myself.

"There's this beautiful place out in the snowy mountains. My family has an old manor house out that way." He started telling me between kisses and pecks to my neck. "We used to visit it frequently, but no one really travels out that way anymore. I'm not sure why, because when I tell you it is absolutely gorgeous." He kissed my skin again. "I mean it." He added on.

I moved my head to the side to remove his lips from my skin for a moment. He leaned back up to look down at me while he pushed my hair back behind my ear.

"Why doesn't anyone go out there?" I asked him out of curiosity. He shrugged his shoulders once as he thought of how to respond.

"It was put into my father's name and Merlin knows we've been too busy to really travel the past few years. No one else has cared to ask to visit it. So it just sits. He sends the elves out every once in a while to do some house keeping and work to maintain the place, but that's about it." He explained to me. "I'll send one of the elves over soon to fix it up before I take you." He told me with a smug smile. I loved this look from him the most. The I'll give you the world, and then some look.

"Are we going the entire holiday?" I asked him as I reached my arms up and wrapped them around his neck. He nodded his head softly before he spoke up.

"I plan to. We need a vacation." He laughed before he kissed my lips again. I kissed him back softly before I grabbed the back of his hair tightly. I wouldn't lie, I wanted Draco desperately in this moment.

"Easy there, tiger," Draco laughed as he started pulling away from my grasp. "I'm not shagging you in the bathroom. Who knows where Myrtle is lingering these hours." He chuckled as he glanced around the old room. "Another time. It'll be better than you can imagine, I assure you." He told me as he unlocked the door and opened it. He grabbed my hand into his and walked us through the hallway once again.

•

"I can't wait to see my mother." I told Draco honestly as I packed the remainder of my clothes into my trunk while I sat on the floor of my dorm. "She'll never believe the stories I have to share about this term so far." I widened my eyes as my annoyance grew. She always thought I was the trouble in school. She never agreed that my punishment didn't come without cause.

"I miss my mommy, too." He told me while he laid on my bed and waited for me to finish. He had already packed all of his stuff up in the early afternoon, so he had nothing better to do.

Our friends had all left for hogsmeade over an hour ago. They decided to give clubbing another go after the endeavors that occurred the last time we went there.

Draco was the one who turned down the offer immediately. He said that he refused to step foot back in that 'chamber of life ruiners.' He was being a little dramatic about the club itself, considering the whole fight we had was because of him and the actions he chose... but I'm not one to bring that up again. He stands by his claims that those girls put something in his cup.

"Are you almost finished, Princess?" He asked in a half joking manner while he leaned off of the bed to look down at me. I gave him a glare as I continued to fold up my clothes. "Oh, don't be like that. I love you." He told me playfully. I continued working so that I could finish up. I finally slammed the lid closed and crawled up onto the bed with Draco.

I jumped across him and pushed all my down on to him forcefully. He let out a harsh breath from the sudden action as it knocked the wind out of him. I chuckled lowly as I picked my head up to look at his face.

"Thanks," he faked a smile as he forced the word out breathlessly. My smile didn't fade as he rolled me off of him and laid me at his side.

"Do you think they're all having fun without us?" I asked Draco as I made myself more comfortable. He made an uninterested face as he looked back at me.

"Hell if I care. This is a million times more fun to me." He told me as he inched his face closer.

"Really?" I laughed as I looked at him with surprise.

"Really." He mocked my tone as he smiled at me. He attached his lips to mine softly while his hands grazed up my side. My heart rate picked up quickly as he touched me, a feeling I thought I'd never get used to.

"What time do we leave in the morning?" I mumbled against his lips. He ignored the question as he gave my lips a few more kisses. "Draco?" I giggled as I tried asking again. He continued ignoring me as he moved my lips with his. "You know I'm not the one who keeps track of this stuff, when are we leaving?" I shoved him away and asked once more.

"Early, now shut up." He told me as he reattached our lips. I giggled at his answer and could hardly settle down enough to take the moment seriously. "What?" He asked out of annoyance. "Why are you laughing?" He asked me.

"Well, aren't you just Moody Judy." I joked as I continued laughing at him. "Are you horny or something? Is that what's making you so cranky?" I asked as I snaked my hand down his torso towards his trousers. His expression soon turned to one of amusement as well as my hand found his member through his pants.

"Can I not make out with my girlfriend? Is there a problem?" He asked me as he tried to lean back in. "I'm not trying to fuck you, I think we'd destroy this measly little bed if we did-"

"Draco, stop!" I laughed loudly as embarrassment filled me quickly. He chuckled as my cheeks turned red before he tried to kiss me again. I removed my hand from his pelvis and grabbed the strings of his hoodie, pulling him closer to me as I let our lips connect.

We continued our kisses for what felt like hours. I could never get tired of him or the love that he made me feel. He drove me up a wall, but I was stuck with him for a long time. I could never give him up.

"Can you just stay in here tonight?" I whispered breathlessly before I reattached our lips to one another. He continued kissing me without giving an answer.

"What about the others?" He tried asking between kisses. I grabbed a handful of his hair in the palm of my hand and brought him even closer to me.

"Who cares. They'll have other things to worry about." I mumbled against his lips. "Do you need to change or anything? Can you just wear your sweats to bed?" I asked as I finally pulled away from him. He brushed the messy hair out of my face and rubbed my cheek softly.

"I can just wear these. I don't feel like leaving your bed just as much as you don't want me to." He whispered. He thumb continued rubbing my skin gently as I melted into his touch. "You are so beautiful." He whispered to me as he laid his forehead against mine. My lips curled up into a smile as I closed my eyes. "I mean that. The prettiest girl in the world." He told me in a soft voice.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him into a tight embrace. I was so thankful that we were able to move on from the negative moments that we had at the beginning of the term and share these sweet ones together.

"You really think that about me?" I whispered to him as I rubbed the back of his hair with my fingers. He nodded softly as he placed his face in my neck.

"I love you so much." He mumbled against my skin as I held him. The door pushed open as a group came staggering in and interrupted us.

"Oh shit, you guys weren't about to shag were you?" Dani asked us as our eyes moved to the door. Draco picked up a pillow and chucked it towards all of them harshly. Dani and Maggie both squealed as they stumbled on their heels.

Blaise reached his hands out and grabbed both of their arms to hold them steady. They all walked further into the room before Aria threw the pillow back at Draco with a smirk on her lips. Her strength was pitiful as it barely hurt him.

"Don't you all always go to the boy's dorms? Why are you in here?" Draco asked in an annoyed manner. Crabbe and Goyle entered the room after, joining everyone else. Draco let out an aggravated groan before he threw himself back down and placed his face back in my neck.

"We wanted to switch it up." Goyle told him. "I've never been in the girl's dorms before." He explained. Draco sat up quickly to throw out a snarky remark.

"Yeah, there's a reason for that." Draco spat back at him. I pulled Draco back towards me to calm him back down. He put his face back in my neck and let out a sigh. "I just wanted to lay here with you in peace." He mumbled by my ear. I nodded once as I scratched the back of his head. I was tired as well and didn't feel like putting up with these idiots either.

I pulled the blankets up over both of us more and cuddled up with Draco on the bed. I closed my eyes softly and felt the drowsiness take over my body as the others were carrying on on the opposite side of the room.

"Awe, are you little babies going to sleep?" Maggie mocked as she came over to my bed. I nodded my head slowly as I kept my eyes closed and Draco kept his face hidden.

"We're tired and ready to go home." I mumbled groggily. Maggie laughed lightly as she walked away from us.

"You guys are boring. You never want to have fun anymore." Maggie continued her joking with us. The others kept their voices hushed so that they could eavesdrop on our conversation.

Nosey sons of bitches.

"No, we just learned to grow up." Draco grumbled loudly for all of them to hear. "You should try it sometime. It might suit you." He added on while he readjusted himself on the bed. He wrapped his arms around my torso and pulled me into his chest tightly.

I couldn't hold my focus anymore, the exhaustion had finally taken over as I hid my face in Draco's sweatshirt. We both fell asleep peacefully while the others in the room carried on with their shenanigans.

Harry Potter.

The Dark Lord's voice said in my head in an airy voice. Not again. Not now.

Harry Potter shall die.

Pictures started flashing in my head as I slept, almost like I was in a hypnosis. Nagini. A ring. My earrings. A diary. Harry Potter. A locket. A diadem. A cup. Once the images would show, the sequence would repeat again. Nagini. A ring. My earrings. A diary. Harry Potter. A locket. A diadem. A cup.

Over and over the images played, all while the Dark Lord spoke to me in a whisper.

Harry Potter shall die. You must find me the boy. Help me find the boy. The boy shall finally die.

The Dark Lord's voice continued chanting different things in my head while the images flashed through faster and faster. Everything was almost occurring in a blur.

So Harry didn't drown in the lake after all. He's alive. He's alive and still on the run.

Wake up!

The Dark Lord's voice shouted in my head. I jolted up in the bed with a loud gasp and continued my panting. However, something strange was happening. I could hear everyone's voices as they tried asking if I was alright. How long was I out?

"Draco?" I panicked as I started crying hysterically. I felt his hands grab my face as my panic caused his to escalate as well.

"I'm right here, you're okay. What's wrong?" He asked me in a gentle voice as my head was turned towards his voice. I freaked out even more now that I realized this was real. It was very real.

"I can't see!" I screamed as I shut my eyes tightly. I opened them back up and was met with the same thing as before. Darkness. "Draco, I can't see anything!" I yelled. Our friends were talking at once at they tried to get me to relax and explain.

Draco was the only one who knew the reason behind what was happening to me. My friends had no idea I had such a tight bind with Lord Voldemort himself.

"Breathe," Draco said as he moved my head into his shoulder. "Breathe, Juliet. It's just to scare you. Just breathe." Draco repeated as he rocked me back and forth. My friends didn't understand Draco's calm behavior as he comforted me. They saw a lot more urgency in this situation than he seemed to.

Now that I have your attention, pay me a visit tomorrow. I miss your sweet face and humor.

His voice echoed in my head as I covered my ears and squeezes my eyes shut. I opened my eyes slowly and could see the pale skin of Draco's neck in front of my face.

I moved out and looked at him in fear as I touched his face in front of me. Draco rubbed my cheeks gently as his eyes searched my own. He knew I was back to normal just by the look in my eyes. I could feel my body shaking as my soft sobs started escaping my mouth. Draco laid his forehead against mine as he tried calming me.

"It's okay, love. It's okay." He whispered to me as I cried. Our friends stood at the foot of the bed and watched us in confusion. "You're okay. We're gonna go home in the morning, and you're gonna be okay." He mumbled before he kissed my forehead.

"Are you mad?" Crabbe asked out of no where. "Who in the bloody hell acts like that?! Is she mad?!" He tried asking again.

"I'm afraid she's gone mental." Maggie mumbled under her breath as they all stared at us.

"Would you drunken idiots please go somewhere else?" Draco asked them harshly as I wrapped my arms around his neck and crawled into his lap like an infant. "Except," he paused for a moment as he debated. "Blaise and Aria. I need to talk to you." He gave them pleading eyes as he spoke in a hard voice. Aria's eyes widened as she heard her name come out of his mouth.

"I'm not really in the state of mind for any-"

"Please." Draco begged her. Aria agreed before she helped shove the other four out the door. Blaise grabbed a glass of water before he made himself more comfortable on Aria's bed.

Draco let go of me for a moment despite my cries of denial. He promised me he'd hold me again once he got situated against the headboard. I crawled back into his lap and held on to him tightly as he rubbed my back. He pulled my blanket up over us as he rocked me softly with his cheek resting against the top of my head.

"I'm going to tell you guys something." Draco started as he stared at them. Blaise squinted his eyes slightly as he stared back.

"Please tell me she's okay." Blaise said as he shook his head. "I'm serious, Draco. If she's actually going mental, I think I'll go mental from worrying." He told him in a serious manner as he leaned back on the bed. Always so protective over me and Aria. Loyalty was definitely one of his strongest character traits.

"She's okay." Draco told him flatly. He let out a long sigh before he shook his head. "Aria, get out. I can't." He told her as he nodded towards the door. "I just need to talk to Blaise. I changed my mind, I'm not telling you." He tried his best to convince her.

"That's not fair. I'm intrigued." She whined as she sat next to Blaise. Draco's face turned cold as he shot her a look.

"Don't play these fucking games with me, I'm not patient like Blaise is. Get out." He seethed at her. She groaned loudly before she stood up and stomped her way out.

"Fuck you, Draco." She huffed as she slammed the door shut behind her. Blaise looked at Draco with even more confusion as she was forced out. Draco pulled his wand off of my bedside table and pointed it at the door.

"Muffliato." He cast before he put his wand back down. I moved my face so that I could look up at Draco as he spoke. Don't do this.

"Draco," Blaise said as he leaned up off of the bed. Draco's face hardened as he scrunched his brows together. He took a shaky breath before he tried coming up with words.

"Blaise, I need someone else to take care of Juliet. I've been talking with my parents and I'm gonna take some leave from school after winter break." He started. Well, this is news to me. "Someone to confide in without them assuming she's crazy. And I'm going to tell you something so horrible-" Draco cut himself off as his words rambled out. "You're my best friend." He told him in a hallow voice. Blaise looked more confused as Draco was just spitting out words.

"What is going on?" Blaise asked with his brows furrowed together. Draco's frustration grew as he thought of the words to say.

"Last year. When I was going through hell, and I kept telling you not to worry about me. We kept talking about it late at night, and I just always told you it was about Juliet and how frustrating it was that I couldn't love her." Draco started going off on another tangent.

"Yes. I remember." Blaise held his composure as Draco talked to him. He knew that when Draco got flustered like this, the best thing he could do was listen patiently.

"Blaise, I-" Draco took a deep breath as his heart rate accelerated. I curled up into Draco and closed my eyes softly. I was so tired and just wanted to go to sleep. "I'm a-" he started choking up, but the words wouldn't come out.

"Just spit it out, mate." Blaise told him calmly. I felt Draco reach around my body and grab ahold of his sleeve.

"I need your word." Draco said softly. "Give me your word." He demanded.

"You have my word. I'll take care of her. I'll hold your secrets. I won't even tell Aria. I'll take anything to the grave for you, you know that." Blaise said nonchalantly. I knew he meant it. Draco was his brother, and he'd love him like one forever.

Draco pulled his sweatshirt sleeve up and revealed his arm to his friend. The room was awfully quiet. I leaned up with a puffy face and looked at Blaise to see his reaction. His face was hard as he stared at Draco's tattooed arm. I couldn't tell what he was thinking.

"Merlin, Draco." Blaise mumbled under his breath. "It's Voldemort that does these things? The night terrors she has all the time? And everything you did last term? It's all been true, hasn't it?" His voice started to raise as he stood from the bed. "Juliet, is it true?" He asked in disbelief.

"Which part?" I asked with a broken voice. He shook his head lightly as he took a few paces across the room.

"You killed someone. Didn't you? Carrow was never lying. And Potter." Blaise laughed once. "He has it out for you two because of this. Your father is one, how did I not see this coming? And you guys leaving at the end of the year when the death eaters were here, and-" he put both of his hands on his head. "It all makes sense. Oh my fucking god." He started to panic. "Dumbledore. You killed our bloody headmaster!" His angry voice raised as he looked at me with hurt in his eyes.

"Blaise, please. You have to understand that this is a constant life and death situation. I would never do anything that I didn't have to do. He told me he'd kill everyone I loved and-" I started crying to him while Draco sat in silence. We were both scared of Blaise's next move. "I didn't know what else to do. I'm so sorry." I sobbed.

Blaise came to a stop and threw himself down on the bottom of my bed as he shook his head. He looked back over at Draco's pale arm and stared at it. I pulled my sleeve up as well as I cried, showing him the truth that he wanted. Draco kissed the side of my head sweetly to make me feel better, causing me to turn towards him and lay my face in his neck while I sobbed.

"Shhh, it's okay, pretty girl." Draco mumbled against my hair. "Don't cry." He told me. I could feel his pulse in his neck as his blood pumped through his veins rapidly.

"I'll take care of her." Blaise said quietly as his eyes didn't leave the dark mark. Draco turned to look at his once again while I kept my face hidden. "I'll do it. I'll do anything you two need. I'm in."