Tempted

"The least you can do is tell me his name before you send me off to marry a man I have no intention of falling in love with!" rage filled my body as I stood in the living room of the grand mansion, my entire figure vibrating with anger and anxiety. I was only seventeen, barely an adult and trying to enjoy the life I had finally been given back. This wasn't how I planned to live my life, this wasn't how I wanted to remember my years as a young adult.

"His name is Draco, Draco Malfoy." my guardian nodded stiffly as she gave me one last look and aparated away from this place. Leaving me alone here to face the horrors of my first meeting alone with my fiancé. The word scarred me, I didn't want to get married, I barely wanted to move away from my own home let alone live with a stranger. I should have been allowed to stay with my guardian, she should have fought to keep me.

In a way, I suppose I had no right to blame her. Katrina had done everything for me since she had taken me in at the age of fourteen, but there were something's that, even for the best, I wish Katrina hadn't done for me.

Agree to a marriage such as this one, for example. I wasn't sure weather it was the whining desperation of the fact that Katrina never got a wedding herself, but I was being handed off to a complete stranger in less then two minutes and I couldn't stand the very idea of it all. Marriage was about getting to know the person and bonding your lives together because you love each other, not because some signed paper says you have too.

Pacing back and forth, I sighed as I caught my reflection in the mirror. I was short, petite to say the very least, but everything about me was small and slender. I had a kind of dirty, reddish blond hair with blazing eyes and freckles… and every time I caught myself in the mirror I saw a hollow shell that had been empty for years.

Suddenly, in a flash and gust of wind, I backed away from the window and gasped as my heart leapt throw my throat, lashing around as quick as possible I whipped out my wand and was ready to attack if I needed too. I was never good with surprises, maybe it was the way I had been brought up, or a past memory hidden, but something about the un-expecting flash seemed to through me off.

When I raised from my crouched stance, what I didn't expect to turn around to was a visitor I had never seen before in my life. I probably looked crazy to him in a way, but I wasn't sure it bothered me as much as it should have. If I had to marry him, I should have been doing everything in my power to get out of the arrangement.

We stood in silence for what felt like years, both not daring to speak one word. In a way, he was no stranger. No one in their right mind hadn't heard of the great battle between good and evil, and it just so happens, that the Malfoy family had definitely not been on the good side during the war.

He was tall, at least six feet with broad shoulders and an impressive stance. From what I had heard, all the Malfoy's had been cursed with thin, white blond, greasy hair and a pointed face. But from what I saw standing in front of me, this was nothing like the description I had been told. His eyes blazed a grey like shade of approval as he starred uncannily at me, his hair almost covering his eyes as it hung layered around his face. He was dressed in all black with a smirk placed on his face. This was not the Draco Malfoy I had been told about, and at this point… deciding weather or not it's a good thing, or a bad thing will be harder then I thought.

I was only five foot five against his towering figure, and my skinny jeans and black jacket and most likely been ruffled with the spat our Quidditch team had broken into not hours before coming here. "So your Robyn McCarthy?" his voice was challenging, as if it was a game and he thought he would win. It was natural, but incorrect.

"And your Draco Malfoy." I smirked as his lips curled up into a slight smile, showing off a row of pearl white teeth. "Well I can't say it's been a pleasure meeting my future husband, but it wasn't like I wanted to come here." I sighed and sat myself on the couch behind me, allowing my body to sink into the dark leather and watching his movements cautiously.

"Oh joy, they told me you were like this, I'm so glad it's true." his voice was a slight chuckle as the sarcasm dripped off his tongue when he turned and looked out the window. Taking the few steps forward to close the distance between us, he leant down but inches from my face and starred me in the eyes as he spoke. "It's a pleasure meeting you too Robyn."

My name dripped of his tongue like a foreign language. Scoffing, I shook my head as he rose up and walked around the living room, expecting the windows and furniture, taking a look at some of the art and paintings. "So…" the eerie silence was tearing right through the house as I continued to ignore the striving annoyance that the quiet gave me.

It had been seconds since he last spoke and already the tension was driving me up the wall. "Should we talk over dinner?" he sighed after minutes of complete silence. This was not how it was suppose to play out, but then again. The more we disliked each other, the better the chance that we wouldn't have to stand living with each other for too long.

"You go, I'm not hungry." I couldn't help but feel as I spoke I had answered him too forced. Standing from the chair, I could feel his eyes on me as I turned towards the arch and walked towards the stairs. "I'll be in my room." I couldn't shake the satisfactory of the idea of having my own room in this place, even if it was improper, there was no one here to tell me to do otherwise.

"I don't want this marriage to happen any more then you do. But I advice you to eat, even if your not hungry." his voice was calm and collected, but perhaps he was shielding the crack that almost broke when he spoke.

"Look Malfoy, I don't care who you are, or what your are, but in this house. No one tells me what to do, not even you." hissing the words, I pounded up the stairs in annoyance and walked into the master bedroom, slamming the door behind me. I knew the actions were unneeded, they were unnecessary and the truth of the matter was, I really was hungry. But I didn't want to get along, I didn't want to get married. Everything about this was improper and I wanted no say in this life.

It wasn't as if he had told me to eat, it was a suggestion. But the very sense of the idea of him forcing me to do something I didn't want to made me despise his all the more, even if he hadn't done anything wrong. I should have felt warmed that he cared enough or my health, but I couldn't shake the feeling that if it started this way, I would somehow find myself liking this life after a while.

Before I was placed with Katrina, my life had been one big story of pain. If it wasn't me hurt, then it was someone else close to me. And after a while, the idea of caring for other people became such a strain, the best solution I could think of had been to give up all together. Caring for, and about, other people was making me weak, and where I came from, that lead to death faster then anyone could ever imagine.

I had seen and done things in my younger years that made me feel like someone had set a crucio on me, even now. The memories make me feel the same pain I did all those years ago. Maybe back then, it hurt like a fresh cut, but now, I understood the idea of the concept, and that alone hurt me like nothing else ever would.

That was why I couldn't bare to give my life away. I had just gotten it back, why should I want to let it slip through my fingers willingly again. I had to be strong for Katrina and my friends when I was younger, but that was all behind me… so why did I still feel all the pressure and weight on my shoulders?

Placing a silencing charm around the room, I turned to my closet where my things had already been placed and took out one of my very few muggle bought items. An I-Pod. A handy little music player that worked with just the push of a button. Suddenly, as I placed the earphones in my ears, the familiar soft beginning of one of my favourites rang throughout my ears.

I can't stand to fly
I'm not that naïve
I'm just out to find
The better part of me

I'm more then a bird
I'm more then a plane
I'm more then some
Pretty face inside a dream
And it's not easy
To be me

I wish that I could cry
Fall upon my knees
Find a way to lie
Find a home I'll never see

It may sound absurd
But don't be naïve
Even heroes have a right to bleed
And it's not easy
To be me

The song laced on and on and as I sat motionless in the same spot on the floor at the foot of my bed, I lost count of the times it just played over and over ringing through my ears as the silent tears fell from my face. Burning the skin as they slid down my face. My chin had eventually set itself down on my knees as I had curled my legs up to my chest.

Laying my head back on the bed, I couldn't hear the pounding on my door, and as it made itself known, I desperately tried to ignore it. Wiping the tears from my face with my sleeve and letting a sigh fall from my lips once again. Within a few seconds of the ceased knocking, a low rumble slowly started to build as I pulled my earphones from my head.

Suddenly, realization burst through me, he was going to bust right threw the door! Leaping as a last minute resort, I dove behind the bed and huddled carefully, as I heard the ear splitting crack of breaking wood. My breathing accelerated as I bound up from behind the bed and looked around frantically at the splintered pieces of wood sprawled across my floor.

Looking from the ground up, I turned my face to meet that of a disappointed and slightly annoyed Draco. "What was that for? A simple, Alohomora, would have worked just fine!" I yelled across the room as he took a step inside. Looking around, he abruptly walked right up in front of me and leant down close. The proximity of the distance between us was unnerving as he starred me right in the eyes and spoke in a low disapproving voice. As if he were a father speaking to his misbehaving daughter.

"There will be no locked doors in my house. Not while I'm here at least." his voice was low and demanding as his blazing eyes stood against my storming angry ones. A fire from within started to burn at alarming rates as I turned on him.

"Well leave and we won't have a problem! This isn't your house anyway!" I yelled out, his glare hardening a considerable amount.

"Like it or not I'm here to stay. And when they grant you my wife on our wedding day, which will happen, your going to have to live with me under the same roof, in the same house. So get use to it, no locked doors." turning, he stormed out of the room and down the stairs. Sighing in defeat, I turned on the bed and exploded the pillows, satisfying my needs as I thought them as Malfoy's head. After a quick clean sweep, I attempted numerous times to pull the door back together, but no matter what I did, nothing would work. Every time the door would scatter back to the ground in pieces.

Despite my streak of bad luck, I would not show Draco weakness, I would not prove that I would cave just because of a small little door. Taking a deep breath, I sighed once again and tried another time to put the door together, but to no avail. Grunting in frustration, I turned and stormed towards the washroom. Slamming the door and turning the cold water on. Slashing it onto my face, I gasped at the shock running through my nerves and turned starred up into the mirror, trying to make sense of what I saw before me.

What I saw, was a dark eyed, petite girl, with no life and a shallow shell of a body. Slumping to the ground, I sat on the floor with my head leant against the cabinet, closing my eyes and clenching my teeth. How many time I had looked into a mirror much the same as this and saw exactly what I just did. How many times I had lost my temper or my cool to the simple figure that remained starring back at me when I saw my reflection. Everything about the concept angered me, and I couldn't help but hate my reflection more and more and it never changed.

What felt like years later, I walked from the room to see black skies above and my door still scattered amongst the floor. But my only thoughts consisted of the chill running through my body, and the aching hunger that sounded throughout my stomach. Grapping a pair of warm slipper like boots and a large sweater, I through the hood over my head and snuck past Draco's closed door. Ascending down the stairs, I crept towards the kitchen and bolted towards the nearest cupboard.

Grasping the doorknob, I gave the doors a pull and searched for even the smallest piece of food to eat. Katrina had told me the Malfoy's never much liked muggle artefacts and that for the sake of the relationship, to leave them with her. So to no one's surprise I had bought them with me straight away. A can of Campbell's Vegetable soup had been stashed away in one of the top cupboards behind the exotic spices I knew I would never use.

Opening the can I pulled a spoon from one of the many drawers and jumped onto the counter as I swung my legs to the beat of my I-Pod that I had placed back into my ears. Very handy muggle materials were at times, not the smartest ideas, but handy.

Nodding my head and swinging my feet to the beat of the pounding music, I placed my I-Pod on the counter behind me as I continued to eat my soup out of the can. The idea was disgusting and it definitely wasn't as good as tasting as the real thing, but something had to be done about my starvation, and I didn't have the time to make soup.

Within a few minutes I had finished my soup and rid all the evidence of having a muggle food hidden within the confines of the kitchen. Turning off my I-Pod, I turned towards the dining room and headed for the stairs, but not before I caught sight of a rather large, dark shadow seated at the ends of the table.

Praying he didn't see me, I turned and crept another way, hoping he wouldn't have recognized my actions. "In case your wondering, yes… I saw you." his voice was calm and collected, irritably chiding and chastising as I walked back into the dining room and leaning against the edge of the wall, ready to defend myself.

"You…" I started but never had the chance to finish as he had snapped his hand up ever so sharply once I began to speak. I did not like being cut off, but it was easy to see that clearly this was not the time to protest when such was not needed.

"No, now I understand your feelings towards this arrangement Robyn, but I refuse to have you sneaking down in the middle of the night, past hours, because you do not want to eat with me. It is silly and childish, and I will not have it happen again. For the time being, I am willing to leave while you eat at a reasonable time and I'll perhaps have dinner in another room until you warm up to the idea of eating together. But I won't tolerate you eating after hours simply because you refuse to be civil about the situation." his voice was clipped and demanding, his eyes ablaze as he spoke.

"You don't understand anything about my life Malfoy. You don't know the first thing about who I am or how I live. I've always eaten after hours, it's something I do." I hissed back, pushing myself from my position leaning on the archway and standing a stand on my own two feet.

"Not according to your guardian Katrina." I knew he saw my shock and disappointment as the change to place quickly. A coy like smile seemed to play along in his eyes at the idea. "Yes, I'm not completely stupid Robyn. There is much we both don't understand about each other."

"Good, I hope to keep it that way."