There was a fire crackling merrily in the hearth, providing plenty of heat for the small room. In it, there was an old armchair with a matching sofa. The rugs that covered most of the old beaten floor were worn and dirty. The kitchen was shabby as well, but kept clean by Riley Lupin. She was going into her seventh year of Hogwarts, and wasn't really looking forward to it. Hogwarts would never be the same without Dumbledore. Her father and his new girlfriend, Tonks, went to the funeral together, and Riley went with Cho, but she graduated.

Riley was an only child who lived with her father, Remus Lupin. She never got to meet her mother, who had presumably died. Of course, being the child of Remus Lupin, she was half werewolf. During the full moon, there are two different things that could happen. She could transform fully and be completely calm without having to take the potion her father takes, or she would remain human, but have the behavior of a werewolf. It was random, never the same pattern over each year. But, Remus took the safe road with his daughter and had her take the potion just in case.

Riley was in her room, one of the three in the house, getting ready to leave for her last year at Hogwarts. Her father was out on business for the Order, and Tonks was sniffing out the trail of a Death Eater. It was a blessing that Riley was legally able to Apparate. She checked her watch, and it read ten o'clock. She would have to leave soon if she wanted to get a compartment to herself.

Double-checking to make sure she didn't forget anything, she saw something glint on the floor. She backed up, curious, and it glinted again. She walked over to the glint and found a dust covered ring that had the look about it that said it had been there for years. She blew the dust from it and inspected it closely. It was the most beautiful ring she had ever seen. It was silver with a large emerald in between two smaller diamonds. She tried fitting it on her right hand fingers, but it was either too big or too small. Remembering that her left hand was smaller than her right, she tried sliding it on each finger on her left hand. Thumb, too small. Index finger, too small. Middle finger, a little too tight to be comfortable. Ring finger, perfect fit. Almost as if it was made just for her. She held her hand out, seeing what it looked like at a distance. Gorgeous.

She slammed her trunk shut and dragged it to the small living room. She doused the fire and checked the entire house to make sure every candle was out. On the desk beside the door were key and a note. She pocketed the key and read the note.

Riley

This is a key to the house. If anything bad happens, come back here immediately. I know it will be hard to have a good term without Dumbledore, but Minerva will run Hogwarts well. Tell Harry hello for me, and keep out of trouble. You are more like your mother than you may believe.

Love,

Dad and Tonks

Riley snorted at his last sentence. Apparently, her mother was quite the troublemaker. Riley never meant to get into trouble, it just followed her everywhere. Or maybe she took it with her on a leash…

There was a special room in the house designated for Apparating and Disapparating. She had Disapparated and Apparated to and from that spot enough to know that she wouldn't splinch herself. Before Apparating onto Platform nine and three quarters she darted over to the mirror to check how she looked. The straight dirty blonde hair that went just below her shoulders wasn't disarrayed, and the black eyeliner that went around eyes that matched silver on her new ring wasn't smudged. She walked back over to her trunk, grabbed a hold of it and concentrated on the room around her and Platform nine and three quarters, then that strange feeling of being sucked through a rubber pipe came. In a matter of seconds she was surrounded by parents saying goodbye to their children. There weren't many of them, but more were showing up every minute.

Riley pulled her trunk onto the train and set out to find a good compartment. After a few minutes searching, she settled on an empty compartment surrounded by more empty compartments. She was friends with Charlotte Webb, a Ravenclaw in her year, but she had too many giggly girls around her for Riley to stay sane enough to be among humans. She preferred the quiet, but preferred to be around people rather than to be alone. Instead of waiting until the last minute to put on her school robes, she flipped her trunk open and pulled out a pair of old robes that used to be her mother's. She was in Ravenclaw, same as Riley. She threw them on and sat back down, waiting for the train to get moving.

Riley had heard all about what happened the year before. Draco Malfoy had tried to kill Dumbledore, but couldn't. He snuck Death Eaters into the castle and was in the service of You-Know-Who. She respected the fact he didn't kill Dumbledore, but everything else was reason enough not to like him at all. She took to staring out of the glass into the aisle, watching students walk by. She saw Pansy Parkinson walk by, followed by Crabbe and Goyle. Blaise Zabini soon walked by and Riley expected Draco to be next. No Draco, not even once the train started moving. That was odd; didn't he hang out with those goons? Maybe he isn't coming back…she thought, but she just shrugged. Since the train was already moving, she dug her cloak out of her trunk, threw it over her and stretched out her legs on the seats. She pulled up the hood of the cloak, concealing her face from the passerby, and also keeping her from seeing them.

The door to the compartment slid open to admit someone who was panting, and shut it just as quickly as they opened it.

"Alright if I join you? Nowhere else is open," asked a voice, low, which meant it was a boy.

"Sure," said Riley, not bothering to lift her hood to see who it was. She didn't really mind, so long as he didn't talk too much. She heard him sit down across from her.

"Who are you?" the voice asked, and Riley turned her head to face where the voice had come from.

"Riley Lupin, and who might you be?" she asked bitterly. Maybe he was a talker.

"I didn't think that werewolf had a daughter," said the voice, somehow sounding miserable and arrogant at the same time.

"Well, I guess he did, didn't he? Now if you please, tell me your name," she said with fake respect. Anyone who called her father "werewolf" obviously didn't like him.

"Draco Malfoy, if you must know," he said, and Riley was rooted to the spot.

"I thought you ran away with that bloody traitor," Riley sneered. He deserved no respect from her. He would never have it.

"Are you a Slytherin?" he asked, sounding taken aback.

"Hell no, I'm a Ravenclaw," she answered, and she heard him sigh.

"Can you keep a secret?" Draco asked quietly, and Riley decided this was the right time to show her face. Lowering her hood, she looked straight into his eyes.

"Of course I can," she answered, trying not to sound rude.

The way Draco looked almost shocked her. He didn't have that annoying smirk on his face, and he didn't have that air of arrogance about him. He looked terrible, as if he hadn't gotten a good night's sleep for months.

"Are you alright?" she asked, concerned. Okay, she would never admit it, but compassion was in her nature, regardless of who she showed it to.

"To tell the truth, no," he said, head in his hands. Looking up at her, he sighed.

"What's wrong, then? It's alright, I won't tell a single soul…I've no one to tell," she said, chuckling, trying to lighten the mood a little. It didn't work.

"He was going to kill me and my entire family…if I failed…I couldn't do it, I just couldn't," he said, sounding as miserable as ever. "Then to add onto it, Potter caught me in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom…at my weakest point, unfortunately," he said, a touch of anger in his voice. "I didn't want to kill him, damn it! Why won't anyone believe it?"

"I believe it, Draco. If Dumbledore didn't believe you were a killer, then I don't believe it either," she said, her comforting nature coming out to its fullest. She leaned towards him and took his hand. Without even thinking she started stroking it, trying to comfort someone who didn't even know her. He looked very shocked that anyone could care more than a stitch about him.

Everything that happened in his sixth year haunted him, day and night. Pansy would never understand. She was far too ditzy. Crabbe and Goyle were just too stupid to get it. Blaise kept trying to reassure him that he should be proud to have had the opportunity to follow the Dark Lord's orders.

He needed someone who would listen. Anyone. Someone who wouldn't judge him on the spot and someone who didn't know the arrogant, prideful Draco Malfoy. Once the train started moving and he was positive that Pansy, Crabbe, Goyle and Blaise already had a compartment, he walked down the aisle, trying to find an empty compartment to himself, but he was out of luck there. He spotted a compartment with only one person in it, unsure of whether they were a boy or a girl. Well, whatever it was, it was cloaked and already in its robes. He saw Pansy emerge from a compartment, and hurriedly opened the compartment door. He closed it just as quickly and pressed himself to the wall, waiting for them to pass.

"Alright if I join you? Everywhere else is taken," he said. That was a close call.

"Sure," said the figure. It had to be a girl by the voice. Perfect, girls understood everything.

"Who are you?" he asked, and the hooded girl looked in his direction.

"Riley Lupin, and who might you be?" she asked more bitterly than he had expected. Maybe she was having a bad day.

"I didn't think that werewolf had a daughter," he thought aloud, regretting it immediately.

"Well, I guess he did, didn't he? Now if you please, tell me your name," she said, sounding even bitterer than before. Insulting her dad was the wrong thing to do.

"Draco Malfoy, if you must know," he answered, and she froze. Oh no…

"I thought you ran away with that bloody traitor?" she sneered at him, and he blinked.

"Are you a Slytherin?" he blurted, assuming that anyone with an attitude like that had to be placed in Slytherin.

"Hell no, I'm a Ravenclaw," she said, in the same tone of voice as before. Maybe she didn't want to help him, but there was no harm in asking.

"Can you keep a secret?" he asked quietly. His voice must have hit home for her. She lowered her hood to reveal her face, and she was prettier than he thought she would be.

"Of course I can," she said, softer than butter. She had the most gorgeous silver eyes he had ever seen. The only silver eyes he had ever seen.

Draco couldn't tell whether she pitied him or if she wanted to help, but sadness filled her eyes when she saw him.

"Are you alright?" she asked, her voice swimming in compassion. Yes, this girl would be able to help him.

"To tell the truth, no," he set his head in his hands, but looked back up at her.

"What's wrong, then? It's alright, I won't tell a single soul…I've no one to tell," she said, and she chuckled, trying to lighten things up.

"He was going to kill me and my entire family…if I failed…I couldn't do it, I just couldn't," he said, sounding as miserable as ever. "Then to add onto it, Potter caught me in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom…at my weakest point, unfortunately," he said, a touch of anger in his voice. "I didn't want to kill him, damn it! Why won't anyone believe it?" He could barely believe he was letting her know all of this. He felt a lump in his throat, but forced it away. He was already spilling everything to this girl he didn't even know, the last thing he was going to do was cry in front of her. Potter was bad enough, and that had to be the most embarrassing thing that had ever happened to Draco Malfoy. Closely followed by being turned into a ferret by that insane Mad-Eye Moody they had for a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.

"I believe it, Draco. If Dumbledore didn't believe you were a killer, then I don't believe it either," she said, her voice sounding like it was made to comfort people. He was staring at his lap, and he felt her take his hand and hold it between hers, rubbing it with her thumbs. He started to wonder how someone who didn't even know him could care so much…

Riley felt so bad for him, he had to deal with all of that, and he was only seventeen. Being forced to do You-Know-Who's dirty work. Her main problem was that she took everything just a little too personally. To her, caring about someone who no one else cared about was just as important as caring about herself. There was a special place inside of her that was just for people no one else cared whether or not they died, or that they were having a hard time. She knew that she would want someone to be there when she was having a bad day, so why shouldn't she be there for those who didn't have anyone else? Like Draco, he had no one…she couldn't even begin to wonder what he had been through. Being forced to kill Dumbledore or else you and your family die…she would be there for him, whether or not she liked him at all. She had no one else either, with her father being the only living relative and he was gone all of time. Tonks was gone all the time as well. Maybe if she was there for him, he would be there for her.

She got up and sat next to him, the shocked look still on his face.

"How can you even care at all? I don't get it, Riley…" said Draco, clearly amazed at this act of kindness toward him.

"I know I wouldn't want to be all alone, with no one to go to when I am weak…I can already see that you have no one to go to, or else you wouldn't be in here right now. Compassion is in my nature, Draco. Just yesterday I was like everyone else…you were evil and a murderer at heart. Now that I see you…everything changed. You look as if you haven't had a decent night's sleep in months, and you look miserable…" said Riley, pushing his blonde bangs out of his eyes, smiling.

What happened next shocked Riley as much as being nice shocked Draco. He pulled her into a hug.

"Where have you been all last year?" he asked, still hugging her. When they broke apart, she answered him.

"Where I've always been; hiding away in Hogwarts, trying to find a purpose."

For the rest of the trip, they traded information about each other, getting along better and better the more they found out about each other. Draco was quite the character in Riley's eyes, and loved his bad boy attitude. Not that she loved Draco himself, just the attitude. Two people who were completely alone somehow ran into each other and kept the other company. Riley told Draco more about herself than she had to anyone, and she was sure he told her more than he had told anyone else as well.

"Wow, is the train stopping already?" Riley asked, looking out into the black night.

"I think it is…" said Draco, definitely happier than he was when he first walked into her compartment.

"Oh no! Merlin! It's a full moon!" shouted Riley, pretending to freak out.

"What? Oh! Please don't eat me!" yelled Draco, shielding himself from her. When she burst into laughter, he socked her in the shoulder.

"Hey! What was that for? You're stronger than you think you are, that hurt you arse!" she said, rubbing her shoulder.

"Want me to kiss it and make it feel all better?" he asked, puckering his lips.

"Ew, no way, that'll make it worse!" joked Riley, protecting her shoulder from his face. He kissed it anyway.

"AH! My arm is going to rot off now, thanks Draco!" she shouted, hitting him on the leg.

When the train finally stopped at Hogsmeade station, they gathered their things and found a carriage. Riley pretended her arm was rotting off on the ride up to the castle, and Draco was pretending to sound sorry about it. The thestrals came to a stop at the foot of the stairs that led to the castle. People were staring at Draco, obviously wondering what he was doing back at Hogwarts. Riley saw Pansy, Crabbe, Goyle and Blaise spot she and Draco, and came over to them.

"Draco my love, what are doing with this…thing?" asked Pansy, looking Riley up and down. Oh, that was the wrong thing to say…

Riley couldn't stop her fist before it collided with Pansy's nose, making a sickening crack. She either broke Pansy's nose or her knuckles. Probably both with her luck.

"Don't you ever call me a "thing" again, unless you want a broken jaw to go with that nose!" yelled Riley, drawing the entire school's eyes. Pansy's face was a bloody mess, and she was crying. Blaise was wide-eyed, and Crabbe and Goyle were tending to Pansy. Draco's eyebrows were raised, an amused smirk on his face.

"Compassionate my arse," he said, laughing. Riley was shaking with fury, but fury plummeted into a feeling of knowing she was in deep trouble when she saw the Headmistress, Professor McGonagall. Riley smacked her forehead and sighed. This wasn't the first time she punched a student.

"Miss Lupin, what in Merlin's name happened here?" she asked, spotting Pansy's bloody nose and Riley's black and purple knuckles.

"She called me a "thing"," said Riley, and McGonagall shook her head slightly.

"That is no excuse to break her nose, Miss Lupin…"

"It's a perfectly good reason. She would have gotten onto the subject of my…half-werewolf heritage, and taunted my father…so I stopped her before she could, and now she won't do it again," explained Riley, trying to make perfect sense.

"Detention with Filch, I'm afraid. One week, and I'm sure there will be plenty for you to do, Miss Lupin," said the Headmistress, heading to Pansy, Crabbe and Goyle. Riley made an aggravated noise, and Draco pattered her on the shoulder.

"At least she won't do it again," he said, trying to point out the positives of this situation.

"I bet she will…I did it to her last year too," she said, inspecting her right knuckles. They were probably broken, but she wasn't going to the hospital wing for a couple of broken knuckles.

"You should go to the hospital wing," said Draco, staring at her purple knuckles.

"It's not worth Madame Pomfrey's time, they'll heal on their own," she said, trying to flex them.

"I don't quite understand how you can be so nice to me and help me, and somehow manage to be cruel to people who insult you," said Draco, perplexed. They headed up the stairs and followed the rest of the students to the Great Hall.

"You didn't insult me, Draco, or else you would have suffered the same fate," she said savagely, still in a rotten mood from earlier. Riley saw Harry, Ron and Hermione staring at her, and she smiled.

"Give me a second Draco, I have to tell Harry something," she said, leaving his side.

"Hey Riley!" said Harry, grinning. His grin nearly made her trip. She'd been crushing on Harry forever.

"Hi Harry, have a nice summer?" she asked, and he nodded.

"Nice performance," he said, laughing. Riley blushed.

"It was worth a couple broken knuckles. My dad says hello to all of you, but I better get back to Draco," she said, remembering that she just left him standing there.

"What? Draco! What are you doing with him, Riley?" asked Hermione, concern on her face.

"He came into my compartment on the train, in need of someone to talk to," she said, eyeing them all suspiciously.

"You and your concern for certain situations, you need to get a new personality," joked Harry and she laughed.

"I'll see you all later, okay?" said Riley, waving to them as she walked back over to Draco.

"Bye Riley!"

She walked back over to Draco, who had a look of complete loathing on his face.

"What's with you?" she asked, puzzled. She knew Draco didn't like Harry, but she didn't know the degree of it.

"Nothing," he said, wiping the look off of his face, replacing it with a small grin. They parted once Draco took his place at the Slytherin table and Riley at the Ravenclaw table. Charlotte immediately spotted her and beckoned her over. Smiling, Riley joined them.

"Nice punch, Riley," said Charlotte, and all the other girls agreed a little too enthusiastically. Charlotte frowned at them, and continued to talk to Riley.

"I guess everyone knows that I messed up Pansy's face; again," said Riley, laughing.

"There was something I noticed that no one else did; what were you doing with Draco? I saw you get off the train with him, laughing and enjoying time spent with him. What happened that made you two best chums all of a sudden?" Charlotte asked, curious.

"I can't tell you, I promised him I wouldn't tell a single soul," Riley said, surprised that anyone even noticed. Charlotte nodded in defeat, and the mob of Ravenclaw girls started chatting merrily again.

McGonagall brought out the new first years to be sorted, and once that was finished she gave the beginning of the year speech.

"Welcome to Hogwarts, first years, and welcome back to our other students. The passing of Albus Dumbledore has saddened us all, but I know he would wish for us all to enjoy our lives. Now, I shall introduce our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, who I am glad to welcome back, Remus Lupin." Riley stood up and saw her father standing as well. He waved to the crowd of students, and smiled at his daughter. She sat down, and began to think. Why didn't he tell me he was coming back?

The feast began, and everyone started eating. Once Riley was stuffed to the exploding point, she walked up to the staff table to say hello to her father.

"Dad!" she yelled over the noise in the Great Hall, and he stopped his conversation with Hagrid. "Why didn't you tell me you were coming back to Hogwarts?"

"I thought I'd surprise you," he said, and she went behind the table to hug him.

"I haven't seen you for weeks," she said, sighing.

"I've been here, getting lessons prepared for the first few months of school. I hear you've already gotten into trouble and you haven't even been here for two hours," he said, holding her at an arm's length.

"Yeah…" she said, looking down at her shoes.

"What did you do?" he asked, and she sighed.

"I punched Pansy Parkinson in the nose," she mumbled, and to her surprise her father chuckled.

"I should have known. A cross between your mother and I was bound to be a trouble maker," he said, taking Riley's right hand to look at it. She gave her father one last hug before going to visit Draco at the Slytherin table.

She saw him sitting away from the rest of the Slytherins, save his usual crowd that he wanted to get away from.

"Hi Draco," she said, taking a seat beside him. On the other side of him sat Pansy, nose looking like it did before Riley broke it.

"It looks like your father is teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts again," he said, indicating the staff table.

"Yeah, he is…he never told me, so it was quite the shock when McGonagall announced it," said Riley, peering across Draco to get a good look at Pansy. Riley smiled at her; well, it was more baring her teeth at her.

"Hey Riley, can I talk to you alone for a minute?" Pansy asked with a fake smile on her face.

"Sure Pansy," she said, getting up. Draco gave her a skeptical look, and she smiled evilly.

Pansy took her far enough away so no one could see them or hear them and glared at her.

"You stay away from my Draco, you filth!" she shouted, fists on her hips.

"It's hard to stay away from him when he wants to be around me, Parkinson," Riley said smartly, arms folded across her chest.

"He doesn't want to be around you, half-breed," Pansy said nastily, starting to get uneasy.

"Then why did he kiss me when we were on the train, and in the carriage?" Riley lied and Pansy looked livid. She was totally speechless, unable to speak after Riley's comment.

Riley smirked and walked back to the Slytherin table, taking her place at Draco's side.

"What did you do to her?" he asked curiously, and Riley just smiled.

"If she asks, we kissed in the compartment on the train and in the carriage," said Riley, and Draco raised an eyebrow.

"But we didn't," he said, and she grinned.

"Pansy doesn't know that."

Just as Riley spoke, Pansy emerged from around the corner, face expressionless.

"I'm beginning to wonder why you weren't placed in Slytherin," said Draco, suppressing laughter.

"I'm too smart to be in Slytherin, so the hat put me in Ravenclaw," said Riley.

"Granger is a know-it-all, but she's in Gryffindor," argued Draco, making a point.

"But look at her though. She's been through all sorts of things with Harry, which makes her brave, so that's why she's in Gryffindor instead of Ravenclaw," Riley pointed out, but Draco was right with her on it.

"But you're a cunning bitch, so shouldn't you be in Slytherin?"

"Point taken."