I was lucky. In the world we were living in, you could say that I was lucky. I was blessed with a magical parent, well at least one. Unfortunately, the war had taken both of them but my lineage still was one of a halfblood. That made me somewhat lucky, well if you compare me to the muggleborn. When the dark lord rose to power, the one who wouldn't submit were killed on the spot and the others brought into slavery. If I had been in their shoes, I don't know what I would have chosen, perhaps the coward way, becoming a slave instead of dying. Living your life treated like a dog and sometimes worst, is it really worth being alive? I'm not sure. What price I am willing to pay to stay alive? I'm not sure either. The only thing I know is that I am breathing, alone but free.

At 19 years old, being able to provide for myself while being a halfblood unmarried woman can be quite a headache. I worked at a small and refined bakery for 2 whole years, but the old man who owned the shop died; unfortunately, his heir decided to close it. I lost my job. In our world, the halfblood get the lower jobs and the even lower salary. I needed the money! Looking for another job is not easy either; there is a long list of applicants and logically, you get sorted to the bottom. Some young women my age, unmarried and blessed with beauty often ends up as concubine for pureblood lords. But, if you look at it like their last chance for survival, this all make sense. I don't judge them, even for some time, the thought entered my mind. But this is a last resort solution, when I will be too hungry to even care; this is the pact I made for myself and my dignity.

That day, I was walking on Diagon Alley to look if there was not a store, boutique, restaurant who needed a new employee. Working on Diagon Alley was the dream of every halfblood, the salary was much higher. I thought that with my experience in a bakery and my good look, it would get me another job in the famous Brother Piaget's bakery. I knew I had my chances and that was where I was heading. So this is how my story began…

"Hey look where you're going you filthy, disgusting thing. Do you have any idea what these shoes cost? Do you?" The man kept insisting that I had ruined his fancy shoes by splashing water on them accidently while walking. I kept my head low and let him scold me like a mere child. "They cost more than you can make in a lifetime you poor halfblood girl." How he knew I was a halfblood? Easy with what I was wearing, anyone could tell. He kept going and going and going and I kept apologizing and apologizing again and again.

"Enough Flint, leave the girl alone at once, we have places to be." I knew that voice, for heaven's sake I knew that voice. I could have spotted the man in a crowded room only by hearing THAT voice. He was Draco Malfoy; the most seek man in all of Britain. Every woman dreamed of becoming his wife, lover, anything. He was my schoolgirl crush, had always been since I entered first year at Hogward. I knew he wouldn't recognise me. He used to carry himself with his head so high, still do by the way, that he wouldn't see anyone who didn't stand out. At school, I was the typical Ravenclaw; amazingly bright but too shy to answers questions or have many friends.

I glanced at him from the corner of my eyes. At 21 years old, he was still way too handsome for his own good and looked even better than I remembered. The man knew it, he knew that he was above everyone else, richer, better looking, more educated, a pureblood in all its glory! People knew everything about him; he was just like a prince, a good looking one. Marcus Flint was the one that kept insulting me and a good friend of Malfoy. He was also one of the most seek man in Britain. I heard that he had gotten married to Miss Parkinson but wasn't sure of these rumours running among the people living in Sir Johnston Street were I resided, a very poor and dangerous neighbourhood.

"Next time girl, look where you are heading. With your face behind your hair like that it's probably hard to see, and it's pretty hard to tell if you're pretty or not." He was leaning forward, trying to get a better look at my face that I kept towards the ground. I really didn't like the situation I had gotten myself into. Draco and his acquaintance weren't people to mess with or get noticed by. I had spent 2 years avoiding these types of situation and in 15 footsteps on Diagon Alley, I get in troubles I didn't deserved.

"What's your name woman?" I didn't answer; I was petrified on the spot. I could lie, create a name, but my brain wouldn't function right in that moment. "I asked you a question, I expect an answer."

"Eveena, Eveena Standfield." My voice surprised me at that very moment. It was way stronger than I felt. I got the attention of all the purebloods who were accompanying Malfoy and Flint to wherever they were going. I guess my last name rang a bell.

"Standfield! As in Joshua Standfield?" Malfoy asked the question. My heart was racing, I should have made up a name….any name, but I didn't. Everyone was looking straight at me; I knew a lot of these faces from my times at Hogward.

"Yes….as in Joshua." It was a mere whisper but he heard me, I knew he did.

"Well, well, well…look what we have here!" He was smirking, that was obvious in the tone he was using. I didn't like where this was heading too. Plan A: making up some lame excuse and running away. If that did not work, I could always go for Plan B: just running away. As I said before, you don't mess with those people if you can help it. Now they knew more about me that was necessary and thrust me, this was not in a good way. Joshua Stanfield…well he used to be a double agent for the Order of the Phoenix during the war. He got thrown in prison when the Dark Lord found out this particular detail and being his only daughter well, let say that pureblood families didn't hold me in their hearts.

"Traitors walking on the street and splashing my friend's shoe…that's just unacceptable, don't you think Flint?" Oh no, Malfoy was at it too now. It was time for Plan A.

"Well excuse my clumsiness, it was simply an accident. I'll have to leave you because I'm in a hurry to Gringotts so I can open my vault and see how rich I'm am! That way, I can buy you a new pair and everyone will be satisfied." Oh Lord, my sarcasm had to jump back in my face that moment of all…I WAS IN TROUBLE and that's an understatement. I turned on my heels and walked away in a hurry leaving all of them flabbergasted in the middle of the street. I tried to hide myself in the crowded place so I entered a very large boutique. Guess I was safe…for now. During this time on the street, Malfoy realised faster than anyone what was going on and snapped out of his surprise.

"OHey, Flint, She just insult us that little banshee!" Flint looked back at Malfoy and realised what the man was implying. "You're right!" He looked back at the crowd and yelled at the top of his lungs to all the people who had been looking, "ALL OF YOU FIND HER! And you shall be rewarded" Halfbloods and some purebloods of little status in society were rushing everywhere. It was only a matter of time.

I saw the commotion outside and wondered what exactly was happening when suddenly people started rushing in the store saying "Where is she!" and I guess I got the hint that they were looking for me. I had to hide better than ever so I took out my wand and when I was just about to perform the charm, someone grabbed my elbow from behind, stopping me from changing my appearance and dragged me out of the store and back in front of the men I was desperately trying to hide from. My wand was taken from me in the process as I was thrown on the ground at their feet.

"I found her"

"I can see that" Flint took out his wallet and granted the man a lot of money, more than I had ever seen before. Guess it goes with the fact of being rich…Another man grabbed me to get me on my feet and took me away from the crowd in a secluded street while his companions were following us, including Malfoy and Flint. I tried to break free twice but soon realised that my attempts were futile and finally I let the man take me to wherever we were going. He suddenly stopped and slammed me against a wall with brutal strength; the air was expulsed out of my lungs and my head hit the stone wall pretty hard, I couldn't see clearly, everything was blurry.

"What do you want to do with her Flint?"

"Let's teach her not to make fun of us anymore, hope she will learn her lesson…Crucio"

I fell to the ground in unimaginable pain and everything went black. I was sure I was about to die, well he could have killed me if he desired to and no one would have asked a lot of questions, I didn't even had a family at that time. My father was in Azkaban or dead and my mother had already passed away a while ago. With no brother or sister or even cousin, aunt, grand-parents, I was even more alone. Plus, the law didn't really protect halfblood and even less halfblood women. Purebloods knew that and therefore, they abused of their power whenever they could.

Fortunately for me, the curse ended, but I was in so much pain I had literally no idea of what was going on around me. All I knew was that I was lying on the ground in some secluded street where no one could see me or come to my help…not that anyone would mind since I was surrounded by Malfoy and his acquaintances. A hand brushed some hair out of my face and grabbed my chin to take a good look at my feature.

"Well, she is very good looking at least…even with mud on her face. Do you want her Malfoy? Since I'm a married man, bringing an unconscious woman in the house wouldn't look too good for Pansy."

"Just leave her there; the Dark Lord is waiting for us."

That was the last comment I heard before I saw the footsteps leave me be in the alley. I did not really mind since you were better off being alone in an unknown street than ending up with one of the purebloods. My body was aching. It was aching a lot. I could barely see anything since my vision was pretty blurry and I couldn't stand up either. I was dead tired but I had to get out of there before something worse happened to me. And trust me, worse could happen. It took all my courage to actually stand up and walk out of the alley. I have no idea how long I stayed there but the sun was already setting and the cold wind was hitting me full force. I had barely enough of clothes to stay warm during a fall sunny day; I could not handle the winter chill with my current state of dress. And that night, I could feel the winter coming closer. I was shivering badly but I managed, I have no idea how, to get all the way back to Sir Johnson Street before nightfall.

That street, during the night, was a very, very dangerous one. Prostitute outside where looking for work at each corner and some men were hiding behind buildings to commit robbery or murder. Pureblood with little status would come here for company since they couldn't pay for a concubine. I would never go out after nightfall. Anyone with a bit of self-consciousness wouldn't either. I stayed in during the whole evening, reading one of the books, for the fifth time or so, from the little collection that I owned.

I always loved to read; novels, scientific reports, newspaper, anything that could entertain me. Too bad the books were now too expensive for me. When I was still working, I would sometimes buy a newspaper that seemed interesting; I had very little money so I had to spend it wisely. The Daily Prophet was 1 Knut, and a book around 1 Galleon, 20 Sickles and 16 Knuts. The choice was pretty easy when you earned 17 Sickles a day or 1 Galleon if you prefer. The rent and food came first, next was clothes and there was nothing left for anything else. For people who are wondering, 1 Galleon is around 10$ US in Muggle money. So basically, I was poor. On top of that, I didn't have any work anymore. Tomorrow morning, I would have to go job hunting again but Diagon Alley was completely out of the question. I was not planning on returning to such place with the encounter I had today. Those were the last thoughts that entered my mind before I went to sleep once again in this hellhole of a life.

This day was a brand new day and I intended to make the most of it. It was time for job hunting. Forget the Brother Piaget's Bakery I was NOT going back to Diagon Alley! Not ever if I could help it. So I went into magical London and checked out every door to see if they were hiring. This wonderful day was not so wonderful anymore. Finding a job proved to be much more difficult than I thought. I knew it wouldn't be easy but still… All the halfblood population wanted jobs and they were not hiring anywhere. I did not even have enough money to buy the Daily Prophet to see if any available spot for work were open; my money was to be kept for food. With the saving I did during my work at the old man's bakery, I could last maybe for a month without a job. A week had already passed by since my encounter with the pureblood lords and therefore, a week and a half since my last pay check. That means I had 2 weeks and a half left of money. I had to come up with something pretty darn fast.

I had to go back to Diagon Alley, I just had to before it was too late. I knew I might regret it but it was my last chance. So I was now heading in that direction, the place I've been avoiding for the past week. Just my luck! Yeah I was the luckiest person on earth believe it or not! Draco Malfoy was standing right in front of me. Well…that might be an exaggeration, I mean he was a few feet away but that was way too close for my comfort. At that moment I was praying whatever muggle god who could make me invisible to the man. Maybe they do exist because I got to pass right beside him mixed with the crowd and if he noticed me, he sure didn't show it. I was saved! I had crossed the street and would soon be out of his sight. I turned on my heels just besides a building to get a look at him, hidden by a front porch of whatever building behind me. I should've checked who it belonged to…I should have. But, at that moment, I was way too worried about the most eligible bachelor of all Britain to worry about anything else. I could see his profile from where I was standing. The door behind me was thrown open and I was pushed all the way to the middle of the street. People just avoided me but that little commotion caused heads to turn. I was hoping his wouldn't. But obviously, I was not hoping for the right miracle right now. I should've checked who that building belonged to. I should've!

"Get out of my way you disgusting filth! You are blocking the way. Plus I have places to be and you are taking my time by interfering between me and my appointment!" Marcus Flint was walking down the three stairs while shooting daggers at me and pointing towards Malfoy. I was doomed. The look on his face told me he had recognised me as I was trying to figure a way out of this one again. I checked the name over the door thinking how come he could have come out of that building! That building of all! Zabini, the store name was Zabini. It was a boutique selling expensive Italian garment. Zabini… Of all places I hid in the front porch of the Zabini boutique. Obviously that was the worst choice of them all since the owner of all those boutiques across Europe was no other than Malfoy's most trusted friend, Blaise Zabini. I tried keeping my head down and stumbled back on my feet. Stumbled is the right choice of word, I had barely eaten the past few days and I caught a cold from my last meeting with those purebloods. The fall had made my head dizzy. From the corner of my eyes, I could see a friend of mine looking at the scene. He was way too scared to do anything but stand there; at least he wasn't running away. I couldn't catch exactly what was being said but I saw another figure come down the same stairs Flint just had. And to my right, Draco Malfoy was standing 4 feet away looking directly at me I can assume. The sound of their voices was fuzzy, I think I was going to faint.

And that is exactly what happened. For the second time in less than a minute I was falling on the ground. No one caught me. Not what you were expecting I suppose, but I hit the ground full force and from what I was told later on, they stopped bickering about stupid halfblood and that they should not allow people like us to be showed in public, like we carried some sort of disease or something. No, they went dead silent. My friend was the first to react and ran to my side slapping my face so I would wake up. He checked my pulse and my breathing. I was fine…sort of. I had an intense fever from the sickness I caught and I was weak from lack of nutriment. Hospital and doctors were too expensive for me.

I woke up in my bed. A fire had been light and the room was warm. I was partially undressed and no one was beside me. A tiny brown bottle was on my bed table with a note under it saying to take the potion when I would wake up signed Joshua. I can't believe it! Josh bought me a potion for my sickness…the guy had barely enough money for himself and his two children! I did not drink it but took it, grabbed my clothes and left with all the money that I owned. I went down two blocks. The sun was set and the people were out doing they're business…I did not linger long but went all the way up to his apartment and knocked softly on the door.

"Who's there?"

"It's me Josh, it's Eveena. Open up please." I waited patiently for a minute. His faced appeared in the doorway and he ushered me inside quickly.

"Eveena what in Merlin's name are you doing out this time of the day, plus you're sick! You should be resting!" I showed him the bottle that I took out of my pocket.

"You bought me a potion bottle Josh, and I don't have enough money to repay it! But I promise I will when I get a job." I shoved all the money I had in his hands. He did not accept it.

"No Eveena, I can't take this"

"Yes you will"

"No, I didn't buy it!"

"What do you mean you didn't buy it?"

"Look, it wasn't me, let me explain…

"Eveena come wake up!" He kept repeating like a mantra while Flint had stopped mid-sentence with an eyebrow raised.

You were in delirium from the fever and you were sort of convulsing, moaning and speaking non-sense.

"What is wrong with her, she looks possessed! Marcus didn't like what he was seeing I guess, made him a bit uneasy. I hadn't even cursed her yet! Answer me!"

I was in a trance and was completely ignoring him. People were talking around you and looking. No one was helping though. Flint grabbed me by the collar and got me on my feet. He started menacing me with his wand so I would answer his question. Then at some point Lucien Bole, a doctor at St-Mungos made his way through the crowd and kneeled beside your unconscious form. He opened his mallet and started examining you to find out the cause of your limp form in the middle of Diagon Alley.

"So Lucien, what is wrong with her? People don't collapse in the middle of the street like that usually. Maybe she got scared of us and fainted or maybe it was because of my good look…" His friends were snickering beside him.

"No Draco, it was because of Flint's ugliness!"

"Shut up Zabini! So I'm curious, what exactly is wrong with the girl…hum what's her name again…something Standfield?" Draco turned to him to answer but Lucien Bole spoke before him.

"She is sick, for a while from what I see…She just fainted out of lack of food, sleep and strength all together. The high fever surely has something to do with it also. It's most likely what Muggle call pneumonia. When left untreated it changes into worse. For now, nothing a little potion can't deal with."

I was fidgeting with my shirt and looking straight at the doctor. "How much for the cost of the potion, doctor?"

"Well a little less than 10 Galleons" He was looking into his mallet to find the concoction. "I have it somewhere…there!" He handed it toward me for me to take. I kept looking at it but was not going to make a move to take it.

"I'm sorry Sir, but I can't afford it and neither can she." I looked toward your limp form with sadness and walked forward to pick you up and bring us home. Lucien grabbed my arm and whispered to me so people couldn't hear.

"You are aware that it can cause her death if left untreated Sir?"

"Yes doctor, I'm aware. But the girl has less than 10 Galleons to survive for the next 2 weeks…she doesn't have a job and has food and rent to pay. Plus, I don't have money to spare with my children at home. But we'll figure something out, it'll be fine." The whispering wasn't whispering anymore but more like talking not so loud. People close by could hear. Some were gasping. But those were all people with a steady job and a good pay check every week; they could easily afford a potion and a doctor.

"It will NOT be fine!" The doctor was more insistent and forcing me to look him right in the eye. "She will eventually die!" You know I couldn't not with the children.

"For Merlin sakes just give the girl the damn potion!" Malfoy who was still standing there took out his wallet and gave the doctor 13 Galleons. "There, it should cover for your time also" Did he give the money out of pity, annoyance, charity or maybe because people were looking and he wanted to pass as the good man…we'll never know. The point is: you got the medication that you needed from the least expected source. I picked you up bridal style with the medication in my pocket and left without another word to a flow network. I didn't thank Malfoy verbally but we locked eyes for a second and the words were not necessary. So that's pretty much exactly what happened."

I was flabbergasted, and without exaggeration. Malfoy, of all people, bought me a potion. I thought the guy hated my guts and wanted me dead…

"Wow, I wasn't expecting Malfoy to be so kind. But still, I shouldn't accept it; he'll think I owe him or something, which is bad."

"Look Eveena, he has NO idea where you live and you most likely will never see the likes of him again, so just drink the damn potion and be done with it. You need your strength if you are to find a job!"

Joshua was right; maybe I should just drink it and get over it. Malfoy has a heart, so what? It's not like I ruined him or anything, the man has so much money anyway he probably don't know what to do with it at this point.

"All right Josh, thanks for the feedbacks, I'll get going then."

"And stay in, it's a cold night outside and I heard screaming, it's not safe for you at this hour of the day. Get home quickly and lock everything." I smiled at the guy. He was so sweet all the time it was hard not to like him.

"Don't you worry, I'll get home safely. Plus I got my wand! I can defend myself."

I left him and his children alone and took off down the street. I could see some lords around the street and prostitute in their arms getting groped against a wall. Wow it was snowing outside…didn't they noticed. Or maybe they used a warming charm. Josh was right, this place is dangerous, I could see some mean looking guys in a circle not far from where I was standing. One of them noticed me.

"Hey honey, why don't you come over here for a little work…" He was suggesting I would degrade myself like that, it the middle of the street and become a prostitute…so not going to happen! I took out my wand and pointed at him and I spoke, more confidently then I felt.

"I don't think so Sir." I kept walking backward toward my block which was only a hundred feet away. I hit something with my back, something hard and soft at the same time. The wall grabbed my shoulder and I went stiff like a steel bar and petrified on the spot. Oh my, I was in so much trouble I couldn't believe it myself. This week was some sort of nightmare that's for sure.

"You've got a nose for trouble don't you Miss….hum…Standfield was it?" His voice was like velvet in my ears and his body warmer than my best winter coat. I couldn't turn around to look at him, I was way too scared. But wait…how does he know my name?

"I think gentlemen that you should move away from this neighbourhood. If I see you harass someone else you shall regret it." They did move away with scared faces. Who exactly was behind me to get them to run fast like that? Malfoy, it had to be him. He came here for his money! Good thing I didn't drink the potion yet. I took out the vial from my pocket, turned around with my head fixed on his shiny shoes, and motioned for him to take the potion. He took the flask and examined it carefully while I was making my exit without any sound toward my apartment block. He grabbed my wrist painfully and put the little bottle back in my hand.

"I remember it to be a gift. You should accept it and use it for your own good." How can a man so cold have hands so warm and a voice that fills your heart with kindness, it should be illegal. I saw him torture muggleborn and halfblood like me during the war. He even killed a good portion of them, like Hermione Granger for example, which I saw the murder photo in the Daily Prophet. It was him! And here he was being kind to me. Kind is maybe a too strong word, more like considerate of me; after all he was still holding me in place very painfully.

"Well, thank you for it." I bowed down in front of him in a respectful gesture and tried to free my hand from his. He laughed. A genuine laugh with his deep velvet voice, it even sent chills down my spine, not sure if it was a good or a bad chill…

"You should thank Malfoy for this, not me" Not him, what do you mean not him? I looked up for the first time and locked eyes with the man. It was none other than the Italian prince himself. I'm not sure if I should be thankful or not, Zabini is as bad as Malfoy. I shivered, from the cold I guess. The wind was piercing my rag of a coat and I could feel it all the way to my bones. I could not use a warming charm; our wand had been restricted to a strick minimum when it came to charms we could use, and getting warm seems like it wasn't an important one since the ministry forbade it. At home, I had a list of the one I could use and since I was a halfblood woman, almost everything was forbidden. Lumos was accepted and accio also but you get my drift…noting very useful in my position. Well at least the man had the decency to notice my shivering and let go of my hand to take out his wand. He put a warming charm on us and put it back into the inside of his fine and expensive jacket. I hadn't talked yet, I was still petrified.

"Miss Standfield, I'm glad I did found you…but I was expecting something else, I was thinking you would be selling your body on the street like these women." He pointed toward the wall where one of the girls was painfully pressed against it and was being molested by some disgusting old man. She didn't seem to enjoy herself at all and looked like she was about to cry of desperation. I looked back at the tall man in front of me and I sort of panicked.

"Well as you heard I'm not! Have a good evening." I turned around to leave but he grabbed my arm again and turned me to face him flush against his chest.

"I can see that. And I am not really disappointed to see that you have more class than these women." He started to feel my arms and shoulder with his hands with a scolded face. This man was weird! Oh no…he wasn't…I know why he was here touching me like that…it all clicked in my head. I tried to free myself from his grip but to no avail. He locked eyes with me with a smirk on his face.

"Let go of me! Let go! You can't do this without my consent; I will report it to the ministry!"

"Miss Standfield, I AM the ministry, along with many other of my colleague." He indicated to dark mark on his forearm.

"But it's still against the law! Let go of me or I'll…"

"You'll what?" His voice held so much strength and power I didn't know what to answer. I was growing weak and tired, plus I was sick. I just wanted to go back to my room and sleep, to stop this nightmare at once.

"You will do WHAT exactly Miss Standfield? Here, you held no power! I will do as I wish. He looked me directly in the eye and could see my frighten appearance. I am not here to rape you if this if what you are afraid of…" I relaxed just a bit in his arms, but just a bit. I could breathe normally again. I took me a lot of courage for my next sentence.

"Then what exactly do you want then?" I looked at his fancy shoes again, not able to hold his eyes.

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