CHAPTER ONE

It was, I suppose, inevitable. We had both fled and were both wandering the earth, avoiding Britain. We were both pureblood, drawn to the presence of magic like a moth to fire. And we were both wondering whether it was time to return, to get over our tantrums and face the past. The future. It was, really, only a matter of time when I should have seen her again.

Fate was not too kind on me, yet again. I had been touring the States and Canada, once again. I disliked the harsh sun in Africa and Europe was just too close. Too many people holidayed there. And I had just been in Scandinavia. So I found myself lured, as many before and after me, to the Salem site. Sure, it was rather cliché, but how can something be cliché unless you have experienced it at least once?

I should have known better than to go to the furthest house, but we Slytherins are not cowards. Despite what the gryffindorks tell you. There were large barriers and shields all around and it took me some time to take them all down, historic as they were. The modern Salem community had moved south somewhat, leaving the old houses as they had been left. And the house showed its age. It was cracked and covered in cobwebs. An old, dented cauldron sat in one corner, and I moved towards it, glancing in. I was surprised when I realised the cauldron was a makeshift pensieve. I could see the silvery memories gliding around. Foolishly, I reached out to touch it. Immediately, an invisible force threw me down to the ground and pinned me there. And then there was silence.

I don't know how long I lay pinned to the ground. The light was minimal in the first place, so when the house was cast in darkness and she arrived with her wand lit in front of her, I had to close my eyes for some while to adjust to the light. When I finally looked up, the beautiful, copper head smirked down at me. I tried to keep my eyes from straying to her long shapely legs under her too short skirt. I didn't particularly want to get her angry.

"Why hello there, Draco. Fancy meeting you here!"
"Hi Daphne. How are you?"
"Very well Draco, thank you. It's quite interesting here, isn't it? But I must say it's getting rather dark. I'd best be going. Nice seeing you again, Draco. I might see you around."
"Hey wait! Aren't you... aren't you going to help me up?"

Daphne came back to me and smirked, raising a well manicured eyebrow. "Maybe. What will you give me?"
"I don't know... anything?"
"Anything?" The other eyebrow raised.

I frowned. "Well, maybe not anything... what do you want?"
"Hmm..." Daphne muttered a spell and I felt myself be released. "I'll think about it..."

I scrambled to my feet to see Daphne walking out the door, her skirt swinging slightly, her copper hair flowing gently down her back. "Hey... hey that's not fair! You might ask for something out of what I can give you..."



"Too bad, I've released you now. And besides you can pay up. You can be my personal slave for some time."

Her words shocked me. "That's just crude!" I spluttered.

Daphne turned and gave me a rather patronising look. "Oh come on, Draco. Of course the work wouldn't be beyond your... expertise..." She gave me a smirk that was most certainly not suggestive and sauntered out the door. "Come on!"
"What do you mean, come on? I'm not going with you!" Despite her body, wealth, connections, blood, intelligence, everything, I had learned to be wary of her. In fact, at Hogwarts, only Blaise ever seemed to get close to the girl, despite the fact that she had never seemed to lead him on, unlike the rest of us. Perhaps it was because of the fact she had never managed to lead him on.

"Course you are! If someone was looking out for you, then you wouldn't have been on the ground like that! And besides, your first duty as my slave is to keep me company. I'm bored of muggles and sorcerers," she said, using the American word for wizards.

Before I could protest, she took my arm and apparated from the woods.

We arrived in a stylish, modern flat. I glanced around and noticed the view over what could only be New York. "Wow," I said admiring the night lights.

Daphne was bustling about. "Here, eat some food and then take a shower. There are some clothes for you to wear. Please hurry, we are late as it is."
She disappeared down one corridor and I approached the table tentatively. There was some fish, warm and scattered with olives, and white wine. Glancing back down the corridor, I sat down and started eating.

After eating, I made my way slowly down the corridor Daphne had gone down. One small part of me hoped that I would open the door to her bedroom while she was changing, however the door I opened was obviously that of the bathroom. Trying to quell that thought down, I entered the bathroom, which was slightly warm and hazy from Daphne's obviously earlier shower. I tried not to think about a naked Daphne. Stripping down, I showered and dried myself, before looking at the clothes she had laid out for me. Realising that the white shirt and dark trousers were probably the best quality clothes I would have worn for... a long time, I grabbed the silk eagerly and smiled as I felt the light material slide over my skin.

As I had just about finished dressing, Daphne appeared. She was wearing a tight mini skirt, that would have looked tarty on just about anyone else, a snug emerald top and strappy heels that showed off her long legs. She ran her eyes down my figure once and then nodded her approval.

"Come on, then. You, my friend, are going to play an important part tonight."

Taking her words with a hint of dread, I let her take my arm and apparate me away.



It was a club. There was not really any other name for it. The music was strong and beating, and the room was dark and crowded and full of alcohol. Surprisingly, it was not full of just muggles though. I could sense wizards and witches moving around, drunken sparks from their wands being shrugged off as decoration by the drunken muggles. Trying not to screw my nose up, I followed Daphne wearily as she took my hand and led me to a bar. Once we both had a drink in our hand, we stood in silence together, Daphne peering out over the crowd and I swinging slightly to the beat.

Suddenly, Daphne stood in front of me. "Dance with me," she hissed and started to swing in front of me. With a slight grin, I moved more vigorously, enjoying the feel of her body moving against mine. Bold, I ran my hands up and down the sides of her torso, taking care not to touch her breasts, wondering how far she would let me go. I might not trust her, but with her golden hair out in front of me, it was hard to resist. She did not protest and continued to dance into me, her body sending mine into a stage of delight. I lightly brushed my fingers down her hips to the edge of her skirt. She ran her hand down the length of my arm until she reached my fingertips. With a force greater than I could have imagined, she crushed my fingers until I pulled them away from her skirt. Turning to face me, she smiled sweetly. "Play nice," she whispered, moving her mouth to my ear and then down my neck. Entirely confused by her antics, I pulled away, but she laced her arms around my shoulders and ground her hips into mine. Groaning, I tried to control myself, resulting in her smirking at me.

Suddenly, a loud voice caused her to turn around and me to glance up. "Daphne?"
A solid, golden haired man glared at both of us. I noticed the wand in his hand.

Daphne giggled loudly. "Whoops!" she laughed before letting me go and moving towards him, pretending to be drunk. "I didn't realise you were...were h'here, how wo-wonderful!"

The man ignored her and was staring intently at me. "Were you feeling her up huh?"

Bewildered, I glanced at Daphne, who had apparently forgotten that I existed and was running her hands up his arms and chest appreciatively.

"Well, were you?" he asked again, his wand threateningly close.

"I... er... no. Not at all."

"Well it better stay that way," he growled down at me. "Come on, Daph!" He pulled a giggling Daphne away leaving me enraged. The bloody girl had duped me again. And I was stupid enough to fall for it. Furious, I left the building, ignoring the suggestive glances from other chicks.

Of course, once outside, I had no idea what to do. I didn't know the location of Daphne's house, like I would go there, and had no place of my own. I had left the last place this morning, thinking I would find somewhere else and not get stuck on a historical house's floor. I paced the street, growling as I thought of my options. However, suddenly, Daphne was beside me again, and before I could say anything, she had taken my arm and apparated us back to her flat.

Once we reached ground, I pulled away from her in rage. "What the hell was that all about!? You planned it all along, you little wrench! What in merlin's name do you want from me?!"
Daphne smiled warmly and I fought to keep it from distracting me. "I'm sorry Draco. I know that 

seemed a bit harsh. It was just an excellent way to end something... Quite spectacular, quite amusing..."

"Amusing for who exactly?" I growled.

Daphne examined her nails. "Oh you wouldn't really understand. You are British after all."

Annoyed at her calmness, I grabbed her shoulders. "What is that meant to mean?! You are just as British as I am!"

"It's all right, Draco. I know you are probably wanting to go home. I mean it has been a while, hasn't it? I'm sure they would have forgotten all you have done by now. That was the reason you left England wasn't it? So that you wouldn't have to be faced with hate every day? That's all right, Draco. No need to feel bad about it. You weren't put in Gryffindor, and there's a reason for that."
"Are you saying I'm not brave?"

Daphne shrugged and gave me a small pout.

"Well, you can talk!"

"I didn't run away from anything," Daphne said crisply.

"No, nothing. Because your family, you heritage, your opinions, the love of your life are nothing!"

"I have no 'love of my life'," she spat.

"Yeah. That's because your life is void. You care only for yourself and no one else!"
"Well, newsflash! I am a Slytherin!"
"No, you're not, Daphne. You used to be a Slytherin, not anymore. If you were a Slytherin, you would have stayed with your family. You would have fought for your heritage or at least supported the rest of us by your presence!"
"You seemed to have done fine by yourself!"
"Haha. Very funny. At least I didn't go mad, unlike Blaise!"

Daphne's eyes lit up at the mention of the Italian boy and then clouded over as she forced herself to remain indifferent. However, I had seen the spark.

"Seems I hit a nerve there," I said dryly.

"What do you mean. I don't care about any of you, least of all Zabini."
"Oh yeah, go on, deny it! He was your only friend. You know that as much as I do. And he loved you. And I think you loved him too!"

"That's not true I..." she suddenly was crying. After a long time, she said in a quiet voice, "He was not my only friend."
I waited, raising an eyebrow.

"My sister, Astoria... we were friends..." She cried some more. "And I don't even know if she's alive! Or Blaise! What kind of monster am I, Draco?"


Surprised at this sudden change of words, I frowned, moving beside her to rub her back. I didn't like comforting girls.

After some time longer, she spoke again, her voice weak and small.

"Draco?"
"Yes?"

"I want to go home."

A/N: Well there is part one of two or three, not sure yet. Hope you liked it. Please review :) And yes there will be some Draco/Astoria in the future!