Hello readers. This story is based on an idea I had when I was eleven years old (seven years ago now… I'm getting old :P) and used to listen to my Pop Princesses album obsessively (haha). The song this is based on is Don't Hold Your Breath by Nicole Scherzinger and it features my first OC, Rosa Gray. I never did anything with the character as she was a Mary Sue and too unbearable to feature on this site. Apologies for any Sue-ness, I will try to keep it to a minimum but I didn't want to change her character too much. Anyway, enough waffling, hope you enjoy!

With shaking hands, Rosa picked up a huge pile of her clothes and dumped them in her Hogwarts trunk. She hadn't used it in a good while, but it was coming in handy now. Rosa had limited time in which she could pack and escape the house for good.

She turned to pick up more clothes from off the floor. As she turned, the floorboards creaked loudly, and instinctively she froze. Then, remembering that she was alone in the house, she relaxed slightly before hurrying her movements. Whatever happened, Rosa had to get out of the house before Draco came home. As to where she was going to go, she had no idea - the Weasley's perhaps? - but that was the least of her worries.

Now the clothes were all in the trunk, all Rosa had to retrieve now were her toiletries, skin care products and makeup. She dashed to the bathroom and gathered a handful of items, then ran into the bedroom and dumped them into the trunk. After repeating this several times, Rosa finally closed the lid, then collapsed against the wall, closing her eyes and resting a shaking hand against her sweaty forehead. This had all just been one long, horrendous nightmare, but she was finally ending it today.

After composing herself, Rosa took out her wand and Shrank the trunk to make it easier to carry. The Undetectable Extension Charm made it almost weightless, and now it was small enough to fit into her favourite red handbag. The moment had come - it was time to escape Draco's house.

Clutching the pre-written note she had prepared for Draco, Rosa stepped hesitantly downstairs. She scanned the kitchen, deciding on the best place to leave it. Finally, she decided on placing it on the kitchen table. Then Rosa turned and walked out into the hall before Disapparating. The only thing left of her was the handwritten note on the kitchen table.

Draco,

You can't touch me now, there are no feelings left for you. You mustn't come looking for me; if you think I'm ever coming back, don't hold your breath.

Rosa

~~~(O.O)~~~

Rosa appeared outside a coffee shop in London, one she remembered from her childhood visits to the city. Hoping no-one had noticed her sudden arrival in the middle of the street, she entered tentatively. It had been a long time since she'd had this amount of freedom.

Upon approaching the counter, she realised she had no money, and hesitated again. However, the woman behind the counter smiled at her.

"Are you lost, my dear?"

"No, no," Rosa stuttered, looking at the menu wistfully as her stomach gave a low rumble. "Just realised that I had no money. I'm sorry." She turned to go, but the woman spoke again.

"Don't worry, dear. I'll get you some water and a cinnamon roll on the house."

"Are you sure?" Rosa asked, immensely touched by the woman's kindness.

"Of course. You look like you could do with some food in you."

This was very true; Rosa had lost a lot of weight over the months. She had always mourned the loss of her figure, and now looked forward to getting it back again.

She took the food with a small smile and a grateful thank you, then took the tray over to the corner, beside the window. First of all, she drank thirstily from the glass, then ate the roll hungrily. The food was amazing, just like how she remembered it. After that, Rosa sat with her chin resting on her hands, staring out the window without really seeing. She was thinking of an old Muggle song she used to listen to all the time. Rosa couldn't remember the name of it, or the artist, but the lyrics were so very true to her situation...

"I was under your spell for such a long time..."

Draco was so charming at the beginning. It was hard not to fall for him, with all his smooth talking and romantic gestures. Rosa admittedly was lonely; George Weasley had left her after almost two years for a beautiful blonde in his year called Lavinia. It had been a huge shock for their huge friendship group; as much as Lavinia was smart and attractive, compared to Rosa's looks and intelligence she was nothing. Rosa had accepted the loss of her boyfriend with quiet dignity, though in private she cried a lot.

Then Draco had come along. There had always been some attraction between the two of them, ever since that first day of Hogwarts. Rosa had ignored it for years because she either wasn't ready for a boyfriend or liked George, but it was totally impossible to ignore on that first day of sixth year.

Flashback

Rosa edged further towards the Hogwarts train with her friends. She was in the middle of a huge crowd and felt slightly claustrophobic. Looking round, she realised that her friends had all been separated and had gone on ahead without her. All of a sudden, she felt a swift tug on her arm. Looking up, Rosa made eye contact with Draco.

"Come and sit with me, I'll be in a compartment at the back," Draco whispered to her, staring at her intensely with his grey-blue eyes. Rosa stared back, unable to help herself, as he pushed ahead in the crowd. She bit her lip as she wondered what the others would say.

Finally, she reached the entrance to the train. Rosa yanked her heavy luggage up and along the corridor, trying to find her friends. She found them easily enough in their own compartment, laughing and joking together.

"Hey guys," Rosa said, forcing a smile on her face. "I'm sorry, but I'm going to sit with Draco just this once-"

"Why?" Ron asked, unnecessarily aggressive.

"Because I like him, Ron," Rosa said impatiently. Suddenly, she found that none of them - Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Neville - wanted to look at her. Only Luna was happy to catch her eye, staring at her steadily without blinking too much.

"I'm sorry," Rosa said, not knowing what she was apologising for as she backed out of the compartment, almost crashing into someone. She dragged her trunk along to the back, where the Slytherins were. Biting her lip, she ignored their unfriendly gazes. For all that she was very popular in her own house, she was hated by the Slytherins for many reasons.

"What you doing in our territory, Mudblood?" Blaise Zabini asked aggressively, standing up. Rosa took a step back as Draco opened his compartment door.

"Zabini. Leave her alone." Draco's tone was commanding as he picked up her trunk for her. "Come on Rosa, let's go into here." He shot his friends a cold glance as Rosa scuttled into his compartment. She waited uncertainly as Draco heaved her luggage onto the metal railing above. He sat down, and looked at her with his beautiful blue eyes. Rosa's heart thumped; she was scarcely able to breathe.

~~~(O.O)~~~

Several hours later, the blinds were down on all the windows, including the one on the door. When Draco had first kissed her, Rosa hadn't stopped him. Resisting was useless, for she didn't want to in the slightest. She'd kissed him back helplessly, her heart exploding. Rosa had missed this kind of intimacy that she'd had with George, though Draco was not her back-up option.

She was sat on his lap in the corner of the compartment, when he suddenly sat up straighter.

"There's something I need to show you," Draco whispered huskily. Rosa made to get up off his lap, but he hung onto her waist.

"Don't get up." Rosa obeyed, watching curiously as Draco rolled up his left sleeve slowly. She almost recoiled in horror when she saw the snake tattoo writhing gently on his arm.

"Does it scare you?" Draco whispered. It was a strange question, and one that Rosa didn't answer truthfully.

"No." Did she truly believe that Draco was good? He was known for being a bully, but he'd always been nice to her… Rosa had always been different, and she knew that.

As if he could read her thoughts, he said slowly, "Don't worry, my darling. I won't treat you like the rest of them. You're special to me."

Alarm bells should have gone off then, but she smiled indulgently and let him bury his face into her long luscious black hair.

End of flashback

If only she'd sat with her friends that day… Rosa was left to sadly ponder what could have been had she ignored his request. She'd certainly be a lot happier, and less isolated. With a rueful smile to herself, she had to admit that she'd been caught in his charm for a long time. And Draco had been so lovely at the start, until his violent temper and unpleasant ways came to light…

"Couldn't break the chains…"

Flashback

It quickly became apparent that the rumours at Hogwarts were true; Draco wasn't just a bully, he was a violent bully.

It started off with grabbing her arm if they had a minor disagreement. Rosa was quick to shake him off, chastising him and walking away. Then it was grabbing her arms and forcing her to stop and look at him. Then it was pinning her down on the bed if they had an argument and Rosa was trying to get away from him.

"Get off me!" Rosa cried, as Draco held her shoulders down in an attempt to force her to listen to him. "Stop it!" It was useless protesting, or trying to escape, because he would never listen and he was a lot stronger than she was.

End of flashback

Rosa looked up at the time. It was half past five; there were still several more hours before the shop would be closed. She lay her head on the table, plagued by her disturbing thoughts and unpleasant memories. Rosa had nowhere to go or stay, so she thought she might as well make the most of sitting somewhere comfortable.